Employer’s role in the usage of social media by employees

In the modern world, social media has taken the lead in every aspect of our lives playing a significant role in how people think and act. The mainstream media is not anymore the main source of information as people can now receive instant updates anywhere in the world. People enjoy the freedom that social media gives them and they choose to express their views online which in other circumstances they might be reluctant to share. However, this freedom can impact the professional lives of individuals but equally can affect the employer’s reputation.

That said, it is important for employers to understand the role of social media and consequences it can have on their business. This article will examine the steps that employers can take to protect their business from the negative effect of social media without infringing the privacy of their employees.

Having a Social Media Policy

It is important for employers to have a social media policy providing detailed guidelines to their employees as to what is acceptable or not acceptable as social media content. The reasoning behind this is to ensure that employees are aware of what is expected of them and help maintain the reputation of the business and to protect the members of the entire company. It is essential to know that a social media policy is a tool to prevent any potential security breaches that might occur by ensuring that employees are aware of their responsibilities towards the company.

Article 8 and 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998

It has been suggested by case law that employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) gives a ‘right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence’. However, when it comes to social media, employees do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their social media usage especially because the information is publically available.

Employees might argue that by their monitoring social media is an infringement of their right of freedom of expression under Article 10 of HRA 1998. However, derogatory or offensive comments can be grounds for dismissal and employees cannot rely on the above articles. In Game Retail Ltd v Laws, the claimant was dismissed after it was found that he tweeted offensive posts. The court held that the claimant’s dismissal for offensive tweets was considered potentially fair, as the employee’s tweets were widespread and potentially damaging to the employer’s image. However, employers must be cautious not to infringe upon employee privacy rights when monitoring or accessing their social media content.

What can employers do?

As previously mentioned, to mitigate the risk, the first step is to have a clear social media policy which is distributed across the business. Regular training of employees is another way to try and mitigate any social media related situations. In cases where a social media incident occurs, employers must thoroughly investigate the matter and obtain evidence of the offensive/derogatory social medial content. An effective disciplinary procedure should be followed, and employers should only monitor the social medial of their employees where they have reasonable grounds to do so.

Gilson Gray is happy to answer your questions regarding any issues relating to social media that concern you. If you’d like more information, please contact a member of our Employment Law team here.

The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only.  They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice.  Before acting on any information contained in this blog, please seek solicitor’s advice from Gilson Gray.