Think before you post
Employees who think they can freely enjoy social networking sites in the comfort of their own home, or even at work, should beware – they can backfire spectacularly, warns Aberdeen employment law expert Kim Pattullo
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YOU are at home or having a quiet moment at work. Slipping on to a social networking site, such as Facebook, for a few minutes can’t do any harm – or can it?
Employees who think they can freely enjoy social networking sites, whether at home or at work, should beware – they can backfire spectacularly.
There have been a number of examples where the online posts of workers have come back to bite them, with airline employees taking the flak recently.
Virgin Atlantic sacked 13 cabin crew after they described passengers as “chavs" and joked that plane engines were faulty. British Airways has been investigating staff who made comments that, amongst other things, passengers were “smelly" and had “stupid accents”.
A hospital has banned nurses from using Facebook after a picture appeared showing a topless nurse in her uniform. The nurse was pictured in front of sleeping patients on night duty in a hospital ward. The culprits are, unsurprisingly, under disciplinary investigation.
And a number of police officers have been collared for their Facebook entries. An inspector was denied promotion after being disciplined for posting graphic details of his gay lifestyle. A now infamous group of Metropolitan Police officers posted jocular pictures of police vehicles and their drivers after they had been involved in collisions. They called their site Look I've Had a Polcol! – slang for a police collision. Their bosses failed to see the funny side and 18 officers were disciplined.
Employees are also using social networking sites to let off steam about their employers. An Argos employee posted derogatory comments about his bosses and soon became an ex-employee, when he was summarily dismissed. A group of workers for the directory enquiries service 118 118 were disciplined after posting less than glowing remarks about the company on a site called I Survived 118 118.
Even trying to hide the identity of the employer may be dangerous. The employee who famously described his employer, Waterstones, on a personal blog as an insulting derivative of the name was sacked. It did not take a genius to work out to whom he was referring.
Aberdeen employment law expert, Kim Pattullo, believes that employers are increasingly able and willing to take action over the use of social networking sites by their staff.
“Employers may be entitled to discipline employees who bring their organisation into disrepute or damage its reputation," she explained.
“In serious cases, this can breach the implied term of mutual trust and confidence and amount to gross misconduct, justifying dismissal."
Ms Pattullo, an employment law partner with law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, advised that it is important employers make clear to their employees what standards of behaviour they expect.
She said: “Employers should have a communications policy which sets out what is not permitted and what the consequences of breaching the policy will be.
“Online activity outside the workplace should be specifically covered. In particular, negative online content that identifies the employer should be prohibited.
“Employers should also make clear if and when employees can use social networking sites in the workplace.
“Many organisations consider that these sites reduce productivity and may encourage inappropriate behaviour. A recent survey indicated that 70% of employers had banned or limited their use at work.
“This should be formalised in the policy."
Another development has been the increased use of social networking sites by employers to keep tabs on their employees. An Australian call centre worker rashly posted his intention to “throw a sickie", which was subsequently read by his boss. A columnist on a Scottish newspaper was recently fired because he posted comments on a blog suggesting estate agents had advised him not to advertise in the newspaper. He claimed the same information was published in the paper, but his bosses were unmoved. Employers are also reported to be vetting potential employees by searching social networking sites to look for information about them prior to making job offers.
Ms Pattullo considers that this practice is questionable: “Using information about applicants gleaned from social networking sites in itself may not be illegal, but there is clearly potential for decisions to be made based on an individual's personal life, which could result in a discrimination claim."
However, job applicants should consider if they want to have the content of their personal blogs added to their CV by a potential employer.
The growth in the popularity of social networking sites shows no sign of slowing down.
Employers need to ensure that they have the policies and procedures in place to discourage their employees from over-stepping the mark.
Meanwhile employees should think before they post.
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