Thread regarding Sabre Holdings layoffs

Change in contracts for all KRK employees

Starting Monday all regular KRK employees are forced to sign a contract of employment amendment. It is a 20 page document stating couple of interesting things. First of all after terminating the contract with Sabre you are not allowed to participate - directly or indirectly - in recruitment of current Sabre employees. Sabre is allowed to reach out to you via mail asking what is your current employment and what are your future employment plans. By the contract you are obligated to reply to such inquiry. Also, you are obligated to help troubleshoot undocumented parts of the code that you committed. Those obligations expire 2 years after you leave Sabre. Privacy policy also changes. You have to agree that Sabre can monitor your corporate laptop by any means possible. This includes recording of audio and video when you work from home or you use the laptop outside of the office or outside of working hours. You have 2 options. Either sign this amendment and collect merit (sic!) or sign a decline form which results in immediate contract termination. You have to sign the amendment at the HR department and you are not allowed to take this document for 3rd party legal consulting prior to signing. Quite a bummer isn't it?

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| 67756 views | | 75 replies (last December 10, 2017) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+Pz7cuWI

75 replies (most recent on top)

Fake news

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Post ID: @3tcd+Pz7cuWI

Why this is only to specific to KRK? How about DFW, BLR? They don't do any development?! In case there is a new contract it should be imposed on ALL employees, not only to KRK!!

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Post ID: @2tql+Pz7cuWI

hehehehe.... I double checked the calendar and it does not seem to be Apr 1st... and if so it means that folks who came up with that stupidity and are forcing it now, aka site leadership (whoever is left there), are just bunch of ... (type here what you want) (forgive my french but I am just quoting here my attorney from one of top KRK law firms specializing in labor law)

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Post ID: @2vlj+Pz7cuWI

So participating in open source projects or hachathons does not have any sense.

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Post ID: @2bop+Pz7cuWI

There is also a statement that if you use a code that you are involved in, then it becomes Sabre property in all areas. Thus, using your library, open source project or even a stackoverflow code snippet in Sabre you are losing apl righta to your project.

Be aware of that

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Post ID: @2yuc+Pz7cuWI

Scan and post the new contract, so that people in DFW and all around the world can see what non-sense this is.

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Post ID: @2nds+Pz7cuWI

After signing termination letter you are obliged to work till end of notice period and only till that day. To do any work later you need a new contract of employment (any kind). You may stop working at the day of signing termination letter and employer cannot force you. It such case it needs to sue you and prove direct connection between his money lost and your absence.

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Post ID: @2kfx+Pz7cuWI

This document is whortless. Most od the controversial parts was confirmed as illegal by polish court. There will be QnA session with HR global as well as some discussion with KRK HR. I believe they didn't expected such pushback. I think that someone in HR will 'pursue other opportunities outside sabre' ;-)

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Post ID: @2bnz+Pz7cuWI

No idea how mediocre, pathetic trolling about 'Sign by Monday or you will be laid off' is going to help here! Frustrated ex-workers are not helpful. Happy elsewhere, why troll about Sabre?

The official deadline has so far been set for the end of December and likewise, so far, HR is unable to specify what consequences we will face if we don't sign this document- I think.

And first of all, many people haven't been invited to sign the document at all- including myself.

But clearly, as we can see, this is a developing story.

I am definitely not going to sign it.

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Post ID: @2juh+Pz7cuWI

PIP (local labour inspection) has been notified about this crappy practice.

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Post ID: @2sxi+Pz7cuWI

Nie badz cipa, nie podpisuj.

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Post ID: @2tib+Pz7cuWI

If you want to keep your job sign the new contract by Monday!!! People who don't sign immediately will be laid off and fired, this is crystal clear; thanks to the managers who work hand in hand with HR to save their own asses.

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Post ID: @2adx+Pz7cuWI

People. Don't sign it. You have time till mid December. One team is already working toward activation of a local branch of NSZZ Solidarnosc (popular trade union in PL). You will have more options then. Some of the new rules are simply ridiculous and it should be fairly easy to remove few paragraphs from this contract. Keep cool.

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Post ID: @1pay+Pz7cuWI

What I think should be done for now is "simply" to stay calm and just refuse to sign it.

Let's get real, no one will hand in their resignation just like that- but we can just simply refuse to sign that paper and see how the situation develops further.

I do believe that our existing employment contracts and workplace regulations provide adequate legal outline of the job that we do for all the parties involved. Committing to doing any task related to your code or any cooperation when you no longer work for the company is totally unacceptable, ridiculous and unrealistic in its own way.

What are the sanctions listed in this paper for not complying to this obligation? How is this obligation regulated work-time wise and scope-wise?

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Post ID: @1asf+Pz7cuWI

I got this text today and I will seek legal advice because it is impossible to understand all the caveats behind it. On Wednesday HR realized that people need to take a closer look at this. They allow you to take this document and sign it not later than in December. It is also not connected with merits. There is a regular paper for that. I will scan it and send a link to the copy within few days. Stay tuned.

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Post ID: @1nay+Pz7cuWI

Most of those points seem like standard US employment agreement expectations for non-compete clauses in regard to recruiting.

Loss of privacy of a Sabre device is typical. If it requires spying on you leaving your desk for a coffee break or listening in on you at home that is crazy.

Expecting you to be free slave labor after leaving or getting fired is Fascist and I am sure you are all aware of how that works out for the Polish. Good luck people. I would quit too if I were you.

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Post ID: @1ccb+Pz7cuWI

If this is true then we must submit resignation, everyone, entair teams, houndreds of people. Lets be proud of who we are and do not allow them traid us this way. If we stay or go sonewhere else we can decide on the end of notice period. Depends whether they will learn from this lesson and realize this is a mistake. But all of us must put his/her resignation. Lets do that this week

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Post ID: @1clj+Pz7cuWI

One of the points says that without signing the document we will not be allowed to access confidential information and will not be granted right to develop the value of the company.

And in another point the confidential information is defined as basically any information. How is that for not making us sign it?

Other interesting points include:

  • full cooperation with Sabre even after termination of employment

  • obligation to document everything we do in the form of notes and sketches (on paper?) and only keeping this documentation on site (WFH anyone?)

  • paying for any damage in case of intellectual rights lawsuit (and suddenly using open source becomes scary)

  • resigning from any expectations regarding privacy of email, phone etc.

  • not recruiting fellow colleagues to a new job up to 24 months after termination of employment

  • not asking any customer to move away from Sabre up to 6 months after termination of employment

  • responding to Sabre inquires about current employment and future employment plans up to 24 months after termination of employment

And above all, the paper is written in complicated lawyer's language and is almost impossible to understand for an ordinary human being. It's 20 pages of obligations towards the company, without a single word of our rights or what we get in return... other than basic ability to do our jobs.

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Post ID: @1vfg+Pz7cuWI

No signing means no merit/promotion

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Post ID: @1ypa+Pz7cuWI
  1. Before signing you can take it home if you wish

  2. No one makes you sign it

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Post ID: @1esc+Pz7cuWI

Who has seen the real document yet and can confirm / deny this?

This definitely is a deal breaker to me- if it proves to be true.

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Post ID: @1blj+Pz7cuWI

@Pz7cuWI-1hfx: Well, I am not.

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Post ID: @1jmn+Pz7cuWI

This milestone marks "the end" of Sabre. Somebody scan the document and publish it on dropbox, google docs, etc.

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Post ID: @1kck+Pz7cuWI

I'm sorry for all KRK leaders who become face of this crap.

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Post ID: @1hfx+Pz7cuWI

Employees unite. We have strength in numbers. Don't sign anything until you are fully informed of your rights and choices. They have resources like HR and lawyers to back them up. It is only fair that we exercise our rights.

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Post ID: @1xef+Pz7cuWI

DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING AND BRING IT UP WITH MEDIA AND LAWYERS!

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Post ID: @1irk+Pz7cuWI

Some clarification:

  • The document you are asked to sign is not an amendment to your employment contract. It is a standalone contract

  • No one is "forcing" you to sign it

  • Refusal to sign it does not result in immediate termination of employment, although I am sure such decision will be used against you sooner or later

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Post ID: @1plb+Pz7cuWI

Could more people from KRK confirm this?

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Post ID: @1hvi+Pz7cuWI

That doesn't sound legal. Seek legal advisory anyways and Sue their asses. As someone said here too, go to the press and give them the document.

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Post ID: @1joh+Pz7cuWI

Do NOT sign anything, one way or the other. Call politicians, and government officials. Demand they investigate this ugly treatment which is worse than layoff.

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Post ID: @1ini+Pz7cuWI

I don't get it. According to Polish law, no one at a workplace can force an employee to sign anything.

Instead, an employer can offer new conditions (including a decrease of salary), but an employee can turn it down. In such case, Sabre can issue a termination of employment with proper notice period.

Immediate termination breaks a work law regulations and can result in compensation much higher than regular severance pay.

In addition to that - In Poland - any unlawful entries in the contract are simply invalid

Considering the above I see three possibilities:

  1. It's fake or exaggerated news

  2. Someone in HQ (incompetent in respect to Polish law) has prepared all this and Sabre will pay for it...

  3. Local HR went crazy

BTW: If there will be 30+ people (total) leaving Sabre this month it has to be treated as group lay-offs with all obligations including due severance pays.

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Post ID: @1zno+Pz7cuWI

This can only mean one thing: Sabre is trying to provoke KRK employees to leave the company so that officially there are no mass layoffs.

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Post ID: @1iuf+Pz7cuWI

All the best KRK where is freedom of speech ;( ??

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Post ID: @1yah+Pz7cuWI

Really? You asking someone who leaves Sabre and yet he /she can be called to help debug code unto 2 years ?

If it’s true , SABRE is in mess.. they have so much attrition and poor SDLC that puts them in this situation where new employees is handed over code written by contractors or employees who have left with no documentation . Where is code review process ?

Uh ...

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Post ID: @1njy+Pz7cuWI

Is this against the law? Not allowing us to get 3rd party legal advice?

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Post ID: @1bdk+Pz7cuWI

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