Social Media In the Workplace

Relevant Legislation

  • Employee Relations Act 2004
  • Employment Relations Act 1999
  • Data Protection Act 1998
  • Employment Rights Act 1996
  • Employment Code of Practice (Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures) Order 2004
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
  • Data Protection Act 1988.

Introduction

Social media surrounds us all in everyday life through our PC’s at work and home and the increase of smartphone’s. It can be a useful information tool, or a line manager’s nightmare which may result in disciplinary action.

Facebook in particular is causing employee relation issues in the workplace, therefore the more prepared you are to set the company’s position with regards to internet usage, email and social media the easier it will be to manage.

Most popular platforms for social media

  • Facebook: with over 1 billion active users worldwide it is simply the most popular social media networking site.
  • LinkedIn: The world’s largest professional network, with 2 million members. Currently two members sign up to LinkedIn every second.
  • Twitter: Twitter has become an important business tool used to gather market intelligence and as a PR platform. Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) is the most popular person on Twitter with about 28 million followers as of September 2012. On average 55 million tweets are published every day.
  • Google: Google has become an integral part of our lives, so much so that the word has even become a verb as we are often heard to say let’s “Google” that. Google search handles over 1 billion searches per day.

Use of social media during business hours?

Should you allow your employees access to Facebook etc at work eg for use during their break times?

Pros

  • Flexible employer, open channels of communication for employees, recognising the need for social media.
  • Employees using LinkedIn may even bring in new clients.
  • Real-time information available to all employees.
  • Trust culture, employees are left to manage their own time.

Cons

Confidentiality, data protection and monitoring needs to be considered here:

  • if they are posting updates during work hours, does their account say where they work?
  • Do they comment on anything work related in their update?
  • What impression does it give out if they are posting updates during normal 9am- 5pm working hours with a clear link to your business?
  • What if they leak something confidential? You could sue for breach of confidentiality, but this leak of information can never be undone. If you ban all access to the sites, the wide usage of smartphones around won’t necessarily stop your employees. In fact it is believed that some businesses are retaining staff due to their more relaxed approach to social media.
  • Loss of productivity- are the employees using their time appropriately.

It is therefore highly recommended that you have a social media policy, to govern the usage and this is clearly understood by your employees.

Also take the opportunity to refer to social media in the disciplinary procedure, any cyber misconduct, bullying or harassment will be treated in the same way.

Social Media Policy

By having a social media policy it can help to outline the clear parameters in which your employees can use the internet. You can acknowledge that the use of internet for up-to-date information is widely accepted but the business will not tolerate any improper use of the facility.

Some areas that you will want to consider:

Access: Consider what access will be granted throughout your business, if you restrict sites it is highly likely that it can still be available through the employee’s personal smartphone. It is advisable to include a statement in your policy which states that access is only to be used for business purposes. And include words such as:

“No employee must access any website that is likely to cause offence. This includes access to all pornography, and other offensive material. Accessing pornography or other offensive material is likely to be classified as gross misconduct and can lead to summary dismissal”

Email: Again Consider including that the employee’s business email account should only to be used for business purposes and the content should not include any offensive material, or any language that could potentially be offensive and if an employee is found to be making use of the internet or email for personal purposes they may be subject to action under the company’s disciplinary procedure.

Copyright: To protect your company from any copyright claims your policy should include the statement that. No information from the internet is to be used in any business publications or other material without the source and related copyright being checked by (name of person).

Monitoring: It is useful here to include that you have the right to monitor email and internet usage for all employees. With a statement covering the following:

“If there is any concern about the potential content of any email the organisation has the right to intercept that email and read its contents. The employer reserves the right to access emails of an employee if the employee is absent from work, but will not open any emails marked “personal” unless there is a good reason to do so”

Sanction: As with any policy here is your opportunity to include what the consequences will be if not adhering to the policy, this can be covered by a short line such as:

“Any breach of this policy can lead to action under the Company’s Disciplinary Procedure”.

Smart Phones: With the increase of usage and advances in the technology for smart phones your policy needs to clearly outline whether the usage of personal Smartphone’s are allowed within your business. Should they be turned off whilst at work? Or kept in desk drawer/handbag? If you are a school it may be worth stating no photos should be taken using their personal phone/equipment, and this may lead to disciplinary action.

Social network sites: Remind employees of privacy settings and consider whether you want them to state where they work under their profile. In recent tribunal cases they have looked at the link of association from the employee’s personal comments to the representation of the business. Research has shown that the majority of employees would change what they have written on their social networking sites if they thought their employer could read them. It should also be cross referenced to your bullying and harassment policy.

Blogging and tweeting: If your business requires an employee to represent the company through this channel, set up a clear business account for the employee to use, which would be handed over to a colleague in their absence. Set appropriate rules for what information they may disclose, the range of opinions they may express and reference relevant legislation on copyright and public interest disclosure.

Control on account: If you appoint an employee to contribute directly to the organisation’s social media sites, they will have been provided with the account’s login details and password. If they leave, or wish to be mischievous they can change the password and remove control of the site from the employer. You need to safeguard against this as much as possible, one option may be to consider using social media management tools ( for example, HootSuite, or TweetDeck) which will enable employees to add posts to corporate social media sites indirectly and can also stop their access immediately on termination of employment. By having a written policy on the acceptable use of email, internet and social networking you will help protect your organisation against liability, giving clear guidelines to employees, and help line managers to manage performance more effectively.

Don’t forget that internet is a powerful tool to help build and grow your business and social networking can be used internally to promote levels of employee engagement and externally to help promote the organisational brand and reputation if used appropriately.

Now what to do with the policy?

The policy needs to be visible and employees need to have a full induction, or training session to understand why the company has took the approach, and the consequences of not adhering to this policy i.e. disciplinary action.

Consider:

New Starters induction

A report published in 2010 by My Job Group found that 55% of employees questioned admitted to accessing social networking sites at work. The research does not suggest that use of these sites is affecting productivity, but your induction programme is a good way to set clear boundaries about the use of the internet. Each organisation will have its own culture and standards of “acceptable behaviour” but it is best to be as clear as possible at the early stages of employment.

Employee communication groups

Consult with your employee reps on the draft document first and then ask these communication groups help you communicate and implement the policy.

Training session for all

Another option is to ask employees to sign that they have read and understood the contents. It is also essential that managers lead by example and follow through the consequences to really make it effective.

Review and update the policy

All policies need updating, but with social media moving and progressing on a daily basis this policy would need to be reviewed on a more regular basis to keep the contents relevant.

Using social media during recruitment

The internet can be a useful information tool. You now have the ability Google candidates that apply for the job at your company. People can be very open and honest on their face book pages HOWEVER do not fall into any discriminatory practices that might result in a potential claim in the future. It may even be worth inserting a line on your recruitment policy/application form to forewarn candidates that you will research them if possible, but this would not affect the decision to invite them to interview.

Consequences of not following the policy

When drafting your policy ensure that you lay out what the consequences will be if it isn’t adhered to i.e.

“Any breach of this policy can lead to action under the company’s Disciplinary Procedure”.

Also cross reference it to your bullying and harassment policy i.e.” any reports of intimidating comments or behaviour towards another colleague using social networking sites may be viewed as a breach of the bullying and harassment policy, and the appropriate procedures will commence to resolve this”

Try and apply the same standards in virtual and non-virtual settings. To help you respond reasonably consider the nature of the comments made and their likely impact on the organisation. Provide examples of what might be classed as “defamation” and the sanctions you will impose. Also be clear about confidentiality and what constitutes intellectual property.

Current relevant case law

Facebook: Adrian Smith vs Trafford Housing Trust

Adrian was demoted for posting his opposition to gay marriage on Facebook and won his breach of contract action against his employers.

At London’s High Court Mr Justice Briggs ruled in his favour, saying the trust did not have a right to demote Mr Smith as his Facebook postings did not amount to misconduct and was a breach of contract.

Matthew Gardiner, chief executive at Trafford Housing Trust said, “This case has highlighted the challenges that businesses face with the increased use of social media and we have reviewed our documentation and procedures to avoid a similar situation arising in the future. Adrian remains employed by the Trust and I am pleased this matter has now concluded”.

Crisp v Apple Retail

Mr Crisp, who worked at an Apple store, posted derogatory comments on his Facebook page about his work and certain Apple products. One of Mr Crisp’s colleagues brought a number of these posts to the attention of Mr Crisp’s store leader. As a result Mr Crisp was suspended from his role and following a disciplinary process was dismissed for gross misconduct. Mr Crisp appealed this decision, but the original decision to dismiss was upheld. He then brought a claim of unfair dismissal. As part of its consideration the employment tribunal considered the fairness of the dismissal as well as whether Mr Crisp’s human rights had been breached, in particular his right to respect for private and family life and the right to freedom of expression.

The employment tribunal concluded that Mr Crisp’s dismissal was fair, and that there had been no breach of his human rights. In relation to the fairness of the dismissal the employment tribunal made particular reference to the training and policies on the use of social media provided to Mr Crisp by his employer, and the fact that employees were encouraged to ask if there was any doubt about their behaviour. The tribunal also

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