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Health check your social media policies- 12/07/2010
As social networking, via online tools such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter has exploded in popularity over the last few years, many employers have had to deal with inappropriate conduct by their employees on the web.
- Dignity at work, bullying and harassment
Companies should be committed to providing a workplace where employees are treated with dignity and respect; an environment free from bullying, any form of harassment, discrimination or victimisation and where no such actions are tolerated.
Social networking sites can cause difficulties in this respect. Where the content of a posting (whether written, video or otherwise) is potentially discriminatory or could amount to bullying or harassment, employers should be prepared to act.
Employers are vicariously liable for the acts of their employees. Acts done by an employee can be treated as having been done by the employer, even if done without the employer’s knowledge. However an employer will not be liable if it can show that it took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent the employee from doing the discriminatory act.
- Reference to an employer, colleague or customer by an employee
It is possible that a court or tribunal could find that the employee’s posting was sufficiently linked to their employment to render the employer vicariously liable. An employer has a duty of care towards each of its employees, and a failure to act once aware could lead to the occurrence of further or more serious incidents.
Once an employer is on notice, the matter should be investigated and, if necessary further action taken in accordance with the statutory three step dismissal and disciplinary procedure.
- Right to privacy
Most of the personal information accessible on social networking sites is voluntarily posted by users about themselves, so it could therefore be argued that the use of that information does not constitute a violation of their privacy in the conventional sense. However, concerns have been voiced about the extent to which individuals may be unwittingly making their personal data available to strangers and the potential for that data to be misused.
Research commissioned by internet security specialist Webroot has revealed that 37% of social networkers have blocked search engines from showing their profiles to people they do not know. However, the Webroot study also revealed that 81% of users allow anyone who is part of their network to view their recent activities, while more than a quarter have not changed their profile's default privacy settings.
- Formulating a policy
Employers should extend their existing e-mail and internet-use policies to include both corporate social networking and personal use of social networking sites.
The policy should:
- Be clear about the kind of information that can be communicated using corporate social networking. Businesses should be very cautious about discussing confidential matters using unsecured methods of communication. Not only could this help competitors, but the organisation could find itself in breach of data protection legislation.
- Ensure staff record any useful contacts acquired through corporate social networking by having clear systems in place. This will go some way to ensuring that any activity benefits the business in the long term, even if the employee leaves.
- Be clear about what is considered to be legitimate corporate social networking, so that the business doesn't get into a situation where staff think it is OK to chat to their friends during work time.
- Ensure staff are aware they are representing the business in any corporate social networking. Any defamatory statements made by employees about the company should be treated as a disciplinary offence, and this should be clearly communicated in the policy document.
If employees use social networking sites on behalf of their employer, for example, in order to liaise with customers or suppliers or to promote the company's goods and services to the public, a social-networking usage policy should also include provisions designed to protect the company against legal liability and harm to its reputation and against the unauthorised disclosure of confidential commercial information and trade secrets.
The content of a posting submitted by an employee may have serious consequences for the organisation in which they work and employers have become increasingly alert to this and are willing to act.