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Behind closed doors?

By Sarah Townsend, Associate

Social media is the equivalent of what used to be talked about in the pub over a couple of beers with mates. A private discussion. No harm done.

But the trouble is that nowadays the discussion isn’t necessarily held in the pub – its venue can be on line.  And while users think that social media is largely private, they’re kidding themselves. The reality is that what you write is easily accessible to a wide range of people.  Disparaging comments that might have been made to a small, discreet group in the pub can now be seen by hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

But the last thing an employer wants are employees tarnishing its hard earned reputation and brand, or bringing it into disrepute. Employees may say that monitoring comments made in the social media is a breach of privacy and that they should be able to express their own opinions to their friends about their work, particularly if what they are saying is true.

In one breath, social media can help build an organisation … and tear it down.

There are increasingly frequent examples of an employee falling foul of his or her boss for decrying the company on-line. The latest to hit the headlines is the case of a Dunedin Burger King worker who kept her job despite very publicly slating the business on Facebook.
Whether it be Facebook, Twitter and any other social networking sites, there are several  potential areas of concern for employers. So what could and should employers do to minimise the risk of damage to the business? 

Most workplaces will have some sort of internet policy in place and the guidelines around this should extend to social networking sites.

Where social networking websites do present a new challenge, is in the management of issues and risks that can arise as a result of employees posting comments and information on personal pages of a social networking site outside of work time.   The key is to have a clear and robust policy stating what is and what is not acceptable, backed up with the threat of disciplinary action if the policy is breached. 

Telstraclear in Australia was one of the first companies to issue a policy to its employees on how it expected them to behave on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.  As a communications company, Telstraclear has been reluctant to ban the use by employees of social networking sites altogether, but has put guidelines in place telling employees what is expected of them – both when using the websites at work, and – more controversially – outside of work.

Although many workplaces will already have an IT policy in place dealing with the use of internet at work, as technology advances employers should regularly review their policies and -  equally importantly – effectively enforce them, to ensure that they still meet the needs of the business.

• Sarah Townsend is an associate specialising in employment law at Duncan Cotterill. S.townsend@DuncanCotterill.com; www.DuncanCotterill.com.

Disclaimer: the content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.