Gary Lineker has hit the headlines in recent weeks for a tweet in which he criticised the Government’s asylum policy and in particular the language used by Government ministers when discussing asylum seekers. The BBC was concerned that his tweet breached the broadcaster’s impartiality guidelines and asked Mr Lineker to step away from his Match of the Day hosting duties whilst they reached an agreement on what kind of views he could voice on social media, but he quickly returned to our screens.
Whilst it is unlikely that your employees will have the same following or reach of Mr Lineker, an employee’s social media activity could have a damaging effect on a business. The reputation of a business is important to its success, and it could be damaging for a business that has worked hard to establish a good reputation to have that tarnished by an employee’s actions on social media. Therefore, it is important to communicate to employees that harming the reputation of their employer could result in disciplinary action, in order to minimise risk to the business.
Social Media Policy
It is reported that Mr Lineker is not an employee of the BBC but nonetheless, it still appears that a lack of clarity in the BBC’s social media guidance contributed to the dispute and the ensuing negative press attention. With this issue making its way into mainstream news, we thought that this would be a good opportunity to discuss the importance of having a clear social media policy and how they can be used in the workplace.
A social media policy could help in the following ways:
- The policy can explain to employees what kind of behaviour on social media is not be tolerated by their employer and could distinguish what is considered to be misconduct and what is considered to be the more serious charge of gross misconduct.
- Businesses would be able to include unique offences specific to their business as types of misconduct for example, derogatory comments about a product that the business manufactures.
- The policy can confirm what the procedure is for dealing with issues surrounding employees and their use or misuse of social media. This will assist management in treating each issue fairly.
It is also advisable to take this a step further and provide some form of training on the social media policy so that an employee cannot say that they were not aware of the existence of a social media policy, or what kind of behaviour on social media would be considered as gross misconduct as a partial defence to their actions.
But can I still have an opinion?
Employers must also take into consideration that with social media becoming part of everyday life for most people, that it is reasonably expected that employees from time to time will publish their personal views on worldwide issues, likes, dislikes and interests on social media etc. Disciplinary action would need to be proportionate to the alleged misconduct and it is generally accepted by the Employment Tribunal that a dismissal would only likely fall within the range of reasonable responses if the employer’s reputation had been provably damaged because of the individuals’ actions or that their behaviour on social media has called into question whether that employee remains suitable to carry out their role. Simply disagreeing with their views on a particular issue alone is unlikely to warrant disciplinary action.
When considering disciplinary action for an employee because of their behaviour on social media, we recommend obtaining legal advice as each case is likely to turn on the facts. It may be the case that there is not only a risk of an unfair dismissal claim but, also a risk of a discrimination claim arising if the particular issue can be linked to a protected characteristic.