A few months ago
I blogged about how the law impacts on our social media lives. I mentioned
briefly how it may affect our working lives and wanted to concentrate more on
that here.
I recently
co-presented a paper on online selling to local business people and mentioned
in part of my presentation the unintentional effect that a social media
business presence can have. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have become hugely
powerful tools in advertising and creating brand awareness for practically all
types of businesses, whether they are selling products or services. It is now
almost essential for survival to have a presence on one or more of the
well-known platforms. What a lot of businesses don’t have, however, is a social
media marketing plan – whether that’s just a general idea as to how you are
going to use social media or a detailed campaign using a social media marketing
professional. It is absolutely essential, however, that businesses have a level
of awareness, not only of how they are going to capture more business, but also
who is responsible for updates.
By way of
demonstrating the unintentional effect social media can have I referred to the
recent case of HMV. When staff members were called in to meetings and it was
revealed that they were being made redundant, HMV bosses neglected to realise
that one or more of the staff members in question were administrators of the
company’s Twitter account, and that live tweets about the redundancies were
being posted while the meeting was going on. At one point this was posted:
“Just overheard our Marketing Director (he’s staying, folks) ask “How do I shut
down Twitter?” The posts were deleted shortly afterwards but it goes to show
how as an employer you need to be aware of who has access to your social media.
I have come
across a number of cases where dismissal was carried out or considered in the
context of social media postings. In one case, an employee was dismissed on the
basis of private facebook messages between her and another individual, accessed
on a work computer and discovered by a supervisor. Whilst the employer did have
an “Acceptable Usage Policy” in place they failed to establish that the policy
had been brought to the employee’s attention and I was in a position to obtain
compensation for my client for wrongful dismissal. This case also goes to show
that it is of no use to pay lip service to having contracts, policies and
procedures in place: they must be properly in place and if you have procedures,
they must be followed.
In the UK in
November 2012 The Guardian reported
that 11 employees of the Department of Work & Pensions had been dismissed
for accessing social media sites during working hours. These people were among
116 employees disciplined for similar matters since 2009 in the same
Department. There are hundreds of similar stories circulating and it is a very
real issue for employers and employees alike.
For employers,
if your business uses social media you should have a plan in place; maintain
sufficient control over its use; ensure that your employees know what is and is
not acceptable.
For employees,
you should know what your employer deems to be acceptable usage; take care not
to put yourself in a vulnerable position, and use common sense when it comes to
posting anything disparaging regarding your employer online!
Maria O’ Donovan
Wolfe & Co.
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