Changeworks Communications - "Companies need to make social networking rules crystal clear"

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Bibby Consulting & Support suggest social media policies are clear & robust

November 01, 2011 - Employers must ensure they have robust social media policies in place to protect themselves from legal action by staff penalised for using social networks inappropriately, said Michael Slade, Managing Director of employment law specialists and health and safety advisors Bibby Consulting & Support.

Slade was responding to news that a worker at Trafford Housing Trust (THT) in Manchester was taking legal action after being demoted for posting comments about gay marriage on Facebook.

Adrian Smith lost his managerial post and was redeployed as an adviser, which meant a pay cut of around 40 per cent, after writing that proposed gay marriages would be "an equality too far" and that "the Bible is quite specific that marriage is for men and women". His Facebook page identified that he was a manager at THT.

The trust said Smith had been disciplined for breaching its code of conduct which sets out how employees should use social networking sites such as Facebook. But his lawyer claimed the company's move was "an extreme and massive overreaction".

The trust said: "Three months after this new code was issued, Mr Smith, without our authority or knowledge and on a Facebook page that identified him as a manager at Trafford Housing Trust, made comments that were found, by a full disciplinary investigation in which he had trade union representation, to be in breach of the company's code of conduct and other policies. Mr Smith was disciplined for his breach of company policy. The trust made no comment about any personal beliefs that he holds."

Slade pointed out that under the Equality Act 2010 an employer is "vicariously liable where an employee does anything discriminatory during the course of their employment". This means the trust themselves could have potentially been at risk if it had allowed Smith to continue to make such comments on a public forum, especially since his employer was clearly identified.

"While there is no doubt that people are entitled to their own personal view on this matter, the minute the view has an identifiable impact on their place of work could be deemed as bringing a company into disrepute," Slade said, adding: "There is a fine line between an individual's human rights and freedom of speech and doing something that could damage the public image of a business."

He concluded: "Social networking is widely used and people express opinions in what they consider to be an informal environment. Very often they would not even consider that what they say might reflect on their employer. This is precisely why companies need to make sure their code of conduct is crystal clear and understood by every single one of their employees. There are likely to be many more cases like this as social networking figures continue to rise, I would urge every company director to take time to review their policies to ensure their brands are not put at risk."

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