According to a survey by the recruitment agency MyJobGroup.co.uk, compiled in conjunction with law firm Irwin Mitchell, 40% of UK employees admit to criticising their employers on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  Furthermore most staff had little or no idea of the legal implications of what they wrote online.  Click here for the press release.

The report contains some surprisingly large numbers, for instance;

• 20% of employees admit to “lambasting” their employers online
• 53% would support disciplinary action against fellow employees sticking the online boot into the workplace
• 60% of employees would change what they wrote online if they knew their bosses would read it (and as the report points out they might given the privacy problems on Facebook)
• 70% had no idea if their employer had a social media policy in place

The press release doesn’t say by whom the survey was conducted or how many people were interviewed but, subject to those issues, the survey suggests employers need to do a great deal more work on educating their workforces.  For some reason, many people seem to think that social media is above and beyond reach of the law: it’s not.  Employers and employees both need to wake up.  For more information on the risks posed please see my Slideshare presentation on the subject.

If you’re an employer seeking help in drafting a social media usage policy for your workplace, or an employee worried about something you might have written on Facebook about your boss, please call me on 0207 464 8433 or email me at michaelscutt@dalelangley.co.uk

Related posts:

1. Facebook “Joke” Turned Sour: Why Employers Need To Take Note
2. Facebook May be Denied to German Recruiters
3. Employer was Justified in Sacking Employee for Comments on Facebook

40% of UK Employees Criticise Their Bosses on Facebook and Twitter originally appeared on Jobsworth by Michael Scutt on 22/05/2010.

Last Friday I gave a presentation to users of the City Business Library at the Guildhall in London.  The topic was the use of social media in the workplace and the issues it raises for employers. You can view the presentation by clicking here.

There was a useful discussion afterwards and most people had stories to tell of how people at work had misused email, inadvertently or otherwise.  Social media, of course, goes beyond just email and surfing the internet.  Indeed, controlling use of these two is probably the easiest of the challenges facing employers.  IT departments can deny access to dodgy websites and it is easy to tell employees what should and should not be said from the corporate email account (although having said that it is still amazing how many people ignore this).

The real problem for employers is how to control use of Twitter, Facebook etc by employees using these media on behalf of the business.  It is simple to ban all personal use ofsocial media in office hours (although query how well this would go down with your staff:  social media is here to stay and how many employers would feel comfortable with banning people from using the telephone for personal use during office hours?) but employers recognising the power of social media to promote their business face a harder challenge. For instance, take the example of Vodafone UK earlier this year (which I refer to in the above presentation) when one of its employees used the corporate Vodafone account to make highly inappropriate comments, causing offence amongst the phone company’s 8,000 odd followers.

Just nominating certain employees to use social media channels isn’t going to be enough; they will need to be made fully aware of what is and is not acceptable.  The main point I make in the presentation is the need for employers to act consistently towards any breaches by staff, otherwise they risk claims for unfair dismissal and/or discrimination arising.

Some of the members of the audience were surprised by my assertion that it isn’t possible to delete your Facebook account. You can deactivate your account but that doesn’t remove all the information you put on and may still be there for Facebook to access. I was wrong, apparently you can delete your account – it just isn’t very easy or quick – see this post here.  I have a Facebook page (please “like it”) but I can never really get to grips with Facebook .  I am going to keep on with it for the time being, but I much prefer Linked In.

I am giving the same talk again at 2.30 p.m on 25th June at the CBL.  Please book directly with the CBL: 020 7332 1812; cbl@cityoflondon.gov.uk

As a law firm we can help businesses develop social media policies to fit within your wider social media strategy.  If you need further help please contact me at michaelscutt@dalelangley.co.uk or phone me on 0207 464 8433.

Incidentally, The Guildhall is a superb location and well worth a visit if you haven’t been. The City Business Library is also a very valuable resource and much improved since its move from the old location in Brewers’ Garden.

Related posts:

1. Social Media in the Workplace
2. Why Employers need a Social Media Policy
3. Why Should Employers have a Social Media Policy?

Social Media in the Workplace originally appeared on Jobsworth by Michael Scutt on 16/05/2010.

How not to Resolve a Dispute or Why Employees should never try to wear traffic cones

(picture right)  How Not to Resolve Disputes or Why Employees Should Never Wear Traffic Cones

I’ve had this question (or more usually) statement put to me a few times  just recently, most recently in a comment on this blog and the second by a delegate at a talk I gave at the City Business Library last Friday.  Both were employers that thought UK employment law gives employees too many rights and opportunities to sue employers already burdened with a vast number of rules and regulations.  In one obvious sense they are correct: employees have a vast number of rights of action available to them, from asserting a statutory right, via anti-discrimination legislation, equal pay, unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages, to whistleblowing.  The concept of unfair dismissal only dates back to 1971 and employment law is very much a young upstart in English law compared to most other types of work. Also, the number of claims brought at Employment Tribunals has increased year on year (save for last year where there was a 20% decrease in the number of claims lodged at the ET – click here to go to the ET’s statistics report *)

Since 2004, when the government introduced statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures intended to promote dispute resolution between employers and employee internally, the number of claims being commenced at the ET has increased dramatically.  However, is it right to say that employees have everything their own way and that employers no longer have the freedom to manage?

There is no “costs-shifting” jurisdiction as of right in the ET. In other words the winner doesn’t automatically get his legal costs paid by the loser.  A Claimant also does not need to pay a fee to the ET to commence his claim; the form can be filled out online and submitted easily.  No wonder employers feel the balance has shifted too far towards the employee.  But look at it from the point of view of the employee.  Although they may have the right to, for example, request flexible working, comparatively few do.  Many also complain of work situations where they want to claim constructive dismissal, but few do because of the risk of resigning without a job to go to.  Further, every employee is under a duty to mitigate their financial losses, so if they do make a claim and also obtain an alternative job they will cut down what they might recover from the Tribunal if they win.  And that is another big issue and,  as the statistics show, most don’t win at Tribunal.

The main and justifiable complaint by employers is that employees can issue a claim, lead the employer into expense of time and legal costs and force the employer to settle the claim before it goes too far, in order to avoid costs getting out of hand.  The availability of no win no fee agreements means that employees can mount claims that perhaps they would not have been able to do in the days when they would be paying a traditional retainer fee.   In some cases, as I’ve discussed in previous posts on serial litigants, some unscrupulous people can make money from making repeated ET applications in the hope that the defendant business will pay up early to avoid the publicity or ongoing legal costs.   Whilst those type of claims may be a small minority,  you have to weigh the cost of preventing those claims against the need for access to justice and allowing employees with a genuine complaint to be able to bring their claims.

* That 20% figure may be artificially exaggerated because of the effect of  10,000 airline cases brought under the Working Time Regulations.  The report itself notes that the real decrease, ignoring these claims, may be a decrease of 4%.  The ET statistics also state that only 13% of the claims submitted were successful at Tribunal (i.e. the Claimant won), 33% were withdrawn (presumably because the employee was advised that they did not have reasonable prospects of success) and 32% were conciliated by ACAS.  In other words, employees may have many potential rights of action available to them, but less than half actually obtain any benefit from the claims (I say this on the assumption that all of those conciliated by ACAS led to some form of financial settlement for the Claimant: in most but not all  cases this will be so).

Related posts:

1. 40% of UK Employees Criticise Their Bosses on Facebook and Twitter

Do Employees Have it All Their Own Way? originally appeared on Jobsworth by Michael Scutt on 26/04/2010.

In a bit of a departure from normal practice here I am uploading a copy of a presentation I gave at the City Business Library today. It may be a bit cryptic if you weren’t there to hear it and please contact me if you require further assistance or explanation.  You can find it at my Slideshare site, which is here;

http://www.slideshare.net/michaelscutt/contracts-of-employment-201009f

Related posts:

1. Contracts of Employment: what you need to know
2. Harmonising contracts under TUPE
3. What Makes a Good Employment Law Story?

Contracts of Employment – what you need to know originally appeared on Jobsworth by Michael Scutt on 20/10/2009.