Understand the legal aspects behind employee use of social media. In this chapter, we look into employee misuse of internet and emails, the previous legal cases that define what you should and shouldn't do as an employer and the checklist you should follow to ensure your policies are clear and protect your business.

1. By Howat Avraam Solicitors
Understanding
the legal
aspects behind
employee use of
social media
Chapter 1 – Employee Misuse of Internet and Emails

2. Introduction
• Social Media: the new normal; everyone is using it, but it
can have pitfalls in the work environment and legal cases
frequently occur
• Previous legal cases are defining what you should and
shouldn’t do as an employer
• Learn about real-life legal cases, and receive clear
checklists for action within your own workplace
• Undoubtedly employers with clear policies and contractual
terms are better placed to protect their business
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

3. Chapters
1. Misuse of Internet and Emails - TODAY
2. Disciplinary action and Social Media
3. Protecting Confidential Information
4. Social Media and Recruitment
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

4. Misuse of Internet & Emails
CHAPTER ONE
Examples:
1. Excessive internet use
2. Inappropriate emails
3. Pornography
4. Downloading
unauthorised software
5. Right to privacy
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

5. Example 1:
Excessive Internet Use
You must communicate the standards of conduct
expected from employees.
This means creating a policy on email and internet use,
and distributing it
DO NOT LEAVE TO CHANCE
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

6. Make your policy clear:
Policy example:
Personal use permitted “outside core
working times”
Real-life: Two sisters who were
dismissed for excessive internet use
won the Unfair Dismissal case against
their employer because the policy was
unclear
Grant and another v Mitie Property Services
UK (unreported) 2009
Policy
unclear
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

7. In the case of no policy:
Legal cases have taken the common sense view:
It is excessive for employee to spend 10-15% of working
time surfing web
McKinley v Secretary of State for Defence ET/2302411/04
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

8. Example 2:
Inappropriate emails
Real-life example: Employee sent “saucy” emails from
personal address to a client of the business
Result: The business lost their client
Staff Handbook: specifically referenced this type of
conduct as unacceptable
Dismissal Fair
Mason v CXC Advantage Ltd ET/2203930/13
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

9. Example 3:
Pornography
Employee had not
been shown internal
policy categorising
levels of offensiveness
Royal Bank of Scotland v
Goudie EAT/0693/03 EAT
Employer had failed to
consider medical evidence
indicating that employee’s
behaviour was influenced by
hypoglycaemic episode
The City of Edinburgh Council v
Dickson UKEATS/0038/09
Real-life example: Employee’s dismissal for sharing porn
images was deemed UNFAIR
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

10. • Employee downloaded unauthorised software
• Disciplinary record included live verbal warning for
playing computer games at work
• Conduct contrary to staff handbook policy
• Employee blamed colleagues with access to his
password and computer
• Investigation: Conduct occurred during employee’s
working hours and no colleagues had access to office
• Dismissal Fair
Fettes v Dundee Cold Stores Ltd ETS/4106018/12
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive
Example 4:
Downloading unauthorised software

11. Example 4:
Downloading unauthorised software
Investigate, investigate, investigate
Consider disciplinary record, circumstances, policy
Fettes v Dundee Cold Stores Ltd ETS/4106018/12
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

12. Example 5:
Right to privacy – case study
Summary
• Go Go Games Ltd (“Go Go”) is a games retailer with
over 300 stores across the UK
• Marco opens a personal Twitter account without using
the restriction settings so his tweets are publicly
visible
• A manager raises concerns about allegedly offensive
and abusive tweets that Marco has posted
Marco is dismissed immediately for gross misconduct. He
brings a claim for unfair dismissal.
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

13. Example 5:
Right to privacy – case study
The tribunal assesses the balance between an employer's
desire to reduce reputational risk from social media and an
employee's right of freedom of expression.
Outcome: Dismissal Unfair
• Tweets posted were for private use
• It was never established that members of the public or
employees of Go Go Games had access to tweets or
associated Marco with Go Go
• No Social Media Policy was shared with employees
Game Retail Ltd v Laws UKEAT0188/14
Experienced | Business Focused | Responsive

14. Misuse of Internet and Emails
Do:
• Have a clear policy on IT and communications systems.
• Specify to what extent employees can access social media sites
• Make clear that employees should not disparage customers, suppliers,
employees online in any way
• Confirm that the employer reserves the right to monitor employees’ use of
email and internet.
• Apply policy consistently and fairly across workforce
• Investigate, investigate, investigate
• Assess damage to the business
Do not:
• Apply blanket ban
• Respond with knee jerk reaction
CHECKLIST

15. Remember: Social Media is the new
normal
Your staff
Your boss
Your friends
Your family
New apps and
uses every day
It’s not going
away

16. Who we are
Niki Avraam, Founding Partner | Tel: 020 7884 9700 |
Email: niki.avraam@hasolicitors.co.uk | howatavraamsolicitors.co.uk
This Seminar is presented by Howat Avraam Solicitors.
We are commercial, employment and dispute resolution specialists. We focus
on law for businesses, and our clients appreciate our straightforward,
practical and commercial approach.
“As a firm they are astute, commercially aware people who demonstrate care
and professionalism in all that they do.”
For more information or advice on how we can help your business today,
please get in touch.