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I work in sales. Every time customer makes a purchase I have to ask if the customer would like an electronic receipt. Most customers do not want it, and as a result I have only taken 10% of email addresses from 2000 transactions in the last month since I can't force a customer to take the electronic receipt.

This morning my manager pulled me into the office and said that she is warning me because I have not achieved 25% of electronic receipts last month and if this happens again she will be forced to hand me a P45 tax form. In the UK you get a P45 when you leave your job or when you get fired. So my manager saying she would give me a P45 was basically her saying she will fire me.

Now I am wondering, was my boss out of line as I never signed anything about this and it's also not mentioned in my contract? I did not want to say anything as being honest I have been quite emotional from this threat and I don't know if there is anything I can do.

In the UK, a P45 is a document an employee is given when leaving a job or being fired (for those who missed the explanation in the comments. For US readers, this is not "pink slip", but a final payslip; the termination is implicit).

You're basically in sales and you're not meeting targets, so, yes, you can be fired for this. It's harsh and unfair, but that's how it is.

Another commenter suggested pointing out the opportunity cost of enforcing this (i.e. losing future business of customers who find being pestered for details irritating). I think your argument will fail, as your manager probably also has targets.

Sorry, Virshdee. Meet those targets or look for another job.

First up you have my sympathies - it's a stupid thing to metric employees' performance on since you can't force customers to provide their address when making a purchase (and I'm one of those customers who doesn't give it!), fair enough if you weren't asking the customer for it but it sounds like you are.

Unfortunately though it is something that they can choose as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and if you don't meet it they can let you go. It's not fair, it's not right but it is what it is. Probably the best strategy at this point is to keep doing what you can in your current job and start hunting for a job somewhere else (preferably somewhere that doesn't have such a stupid policy in place).

Yes, except in very specific employment situations, employers may fire you for not meeting defined targets of the job. They have clearly expressed that you need to gather 25% of customers' emails, so that's one of the things they expect you to do in that position to keep it.

So you need to get your percentage up. This is an opportunity to improve.

1. Ask your boss. Roleplay with her. "I ask them like this and they say no... How can I get more of them to say yes?"


2. Ask and/or observe other employees. They're hitting their target unless they're all getting fired too. How are they doing it?


3. You can use the Internet. Why, you could ask "how to get more customers to give you their email address" here. You could read one of the many online articles about that same thing.

It sucks, but instead of focusing on how to get out of it, you need to focus on how to hit that 25% number. You will succeed in the workplace by understanding what's required of you and focusing on exceeding those expectations.