Working vs Social Networking
With the explosion in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it is becoming increasingly more important to guard against the misuse of such sites. But how do you proceed?
Many employers are regularly encountering problems with their staff's use of social networking sites, both at, and away from, the office. A prime example of this comes from British Airways' recent actions in suspending 15 of their cabin crew for posting inappropriate comments on Facebook.
BA are sure to be undertaking internal investigations, but, with the trade union offering full support to the staff in question, there will be many people, both employers and Facebook fans, watching with interests as this case unfolds.
Brendan Wincott, Compliance Officer for mhl finds that a number of clients now use their Support Line for assistance with similar problems "Clients regularly call us about both the frequency of use, and to raise concerns about, inappropriate comments posted by employees. A common question is what are we able to do when we realise that an employee has posted derogatory comments about the business?"
"The severity and nature of the comments will determine what action the employer can take, but it's not uncommon or unjust for employees to face serious sanctions in response to their actions, including dismissal. One important consideration is whether the comment has been made whilst at work or in an employee's own personal time as this often has a bearing on how to proceed. With an increasing involvement of Human Rights legislation, an employer must be cautious in the way they monitor social networking pages otherwise they could face claims by employees about an invasion to their privacy.”
mhl has successfully assisted a number of its clients to fairly dismiss staff who have made inappropriate comments. However, Brendan offers a cautionary note "dismissing an employee in these circumstances can be fraught with danger.
An employer must ensure that they are dismissed by means of a fair process and a fair reason, but also be aware that there are additional considerations specific to dismissals of this nature; in particular, the impact of monitoring someone's personal social networking profiles, including the impact of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which plays a significant part”.
Brendan also added "Our clients will experience other problems with social networking sites, ranging from loss of productivity, to situations where employees' postings advising of drunken nights out, are followed by them taking the next day off sick. Clearly such actions intolerable, but the way which you address these concerns can pose a real minefield for many businesses”
Employees' abuse of social networking sites can become expensive in a number of ways, and asked how best to avoid these unnecessary costs, Brendan adds "It is important for an employer to get specialist advice on managing their use and the various problems that stem from this. Taking no action in respect of lost productivity is simply not an option for many businesses, but the cost of getting it wrong is high.
As a specialist outsourced employment law and Human Resource provider, mhl are able to assist employers with even the most complex of cases. If you are an existing client and have any questions about the contents of this article or are having problems with your staff members use of social networking websites, please call the Support Line on 08453 100 999 quoting your PCN number. If you are not yet a client of mhl, but would be interested in our help with the issues raised above, please call today on 08453 100 600.
