This article follows on from part 1: How to respond when an employee goes rogue on social media. Read on for part 2.
Social media misconduct is tied into several other areas of your employee handbook, such as IT and communications; bullying and harassment; confidentiality and disciplinary policies. It’s a complicated issue, and more difficult to judge than it might first seem.
Take, for example, the case of Trasler v B&Q. In this case, an employee posted on Facebook that their place of work was “beyond a ****ing joke,” and they would soon be “doing some busting”. A tribunal held that their dismissal was unfair, that it was unreasonable for the employer to conclude that the post was a threat to the business, and that the relationship had not broken down so much that dismissal was necessary.
The bottom line? You need social media guidelines
The key to tackling this, as outlined in our previous article about bad social media behaviour, is to have clear rules in place, touching on all of those areas of the employee handbook, as well as being covered in a clear social media policy.
“The social media policy itself would expand upon what’s acceptable and what isn’t,” says Russell Brown, head of employment for law firm Glaisyers ETL. “For example, anything that damages our business reputation, expressing views about certain activities that you’re engaged in on our behalf in the course of work. Don’t express views on other employees that might not be considered acceptable.”
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Read Full Story: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/advice/how-to-investigate-social-media-misconduct/
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