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‘Do’s and Don'ts of Social Media’
Jean-Pierre van Zyl
Social attitudes
2010 My Job Group survey
33 provided negative comments on workplace
Within that group 19% criticised boss or owner
13% criticised peers
Recent example from HMV
@hmvtweets “We're tweeting live from HR where we're all being fired! Exciting!!” #hmvXFactorFiring
Social Media – issues for employers Social media screening for hiring decisions – potential for discrimination
Loss of productivity during working hours
Inappropriate conduct of employees:
Cyber-bullying/harassment/discrimination Derogatory comments about employer
Confidential information
Business protection - ownership of data created in the course of employment
Misconduct and dismissal Work-related misconduct – employer may legitimately take action
Misconduct outside of workplace :
Not obliged to disregard
Vicarious liability for employee actions
Impact on the employer’s reputation
Does the conduct contravene a relevant policy?
Employment Tribunal Decisions Grant and Ross v Mitie Property Services UK Limited (2009 unreported case)
Two sisters dismissed for excessive use of social media at work, including Facebook
IT policy permitted use ‘outside core working hours’
Held to be unfair dismissals as not clear what ‘outside core working hours’ meant
Employment Tribunal Decisions Taylor and Somerfield Stores (2007 unreported case):
Video of two employees hitting each other with plastic bags in a store-room uploaded to YouTube by employee
Employee dismissed
Only 8 hits on YouTube and could not be said to bring the company into disrepute
Dismissal was unfair
Employment Tribunal Decisions Teggart v TeleTECH UK LIMITED (case no 704/11):
Offensive remark about employee’s promiscuity posted on Facebook
Employer’s decision that conduct amounted to harassment
Employee responsible dismissed
Dismissal held to be fair – employee was in breach of anti-harassment policy
Steps to Minimise Risk Social Media Policy – why?
Define rules Conduct outside of work References to employers and colleagues
Communicate and train on the policy
‘Expect the Unexpected’
Robin Winskell
Three Guiding Principles Do you pursue legal challenges?
Speed is king
Expect the unexpected
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