Over the past decade, social media has brought about a revolution in the way in which both companies and employees communicate. While this has brought many undoubted positives with it, it has also created potential problems which make it important for companies and organisations to have an effective social media policy in place. That sounds fine in theory but just what kind of situations do employers need to be aware of? To provide a clearer picture of what social media means for employers, we spoke to an HR officer, two employment lawyers and a social media expert.
Social media can assist with the recruitment process
Checking the social media accounts of potential employees is something that HR officer Marta Widziewicz hasn’t done personally but she does concede that some employers probably will do this as part of their candidate research. Although there has been some discomfort expressed over that approach, it’s one that social media expert Colin Kelly believes is both fair game and extremely useful. “You can very quickly get a sense of what someone is like by scanning their Facebook or Twitter feed. People feel very free on social networks and express themselves in ways they never would in a formal interview situation. …If I’m hiring you, I absolutely want to know what you get up to in your personal life and I’ll use that information before deciding whether to hire you. Maybe I shouldn’t, maybe you don’t like that, but if you’ve put information in the public domain that sways me one way or another, then of course I’m going to use that.” The ability to research the personality of job candidates is one plus but social media has also opened another line of communication between recruiters and potential employees. Marta recalls from her time working with the NHS that, “We were using our recruitment office twitter account a lot with our doctor trainees, which proved very useful when informing them about different recruitment stages, dates, document submissions and selection centres.”
Social media does pose potential dangers for employers
Of course, where there are positives, there are usually also negatives and social media is no different in that respect. Employment Lawyer Gillian Shaw, of Harper Macleod LLP, identifies four key potential employment-related problems from social media use. “Employers regularly face the types of issues which we have seen arising in recent press reports, including – (1) breaches of confidentiality by employees (like the Twitter disclosure [by a contact of her lawyer] that JK Rowling authored the Robert Galbraith books) (2) aggrieved staff reporting that colleagues who are off sick are posting updates showing them partying / engaged in other activities (not all employees engage in live televised events like the G2014 Tunnocks Teacake dancer – but social media makes it easier to track what employees are up to while off sick) (3) employees posting derogatory remarks about their employer, or their working conditions (4) posting remarks that could bring their employer into disrepute (like Emma Way, the trainee accountant driver who was sacked [and convicted of failing to stop after an accident] after boasting on Twitter that she had hit a cyclist).”
Employment law and social media
With social media use becoming more and more prominent in life – and with the number of employment law cases relating to its use rising – you may wonder if employment law has adapted to deal specifically with this area. In fact, currently, that’s not the case, as Employment Lawyer Mandy Laurie of Burness Paull LLP explains: “There is no specific legislation designed to address issues arising from social media in the employment law sphere. Rather, such issues are dealt with as part of the existing legal framework – the most important of which being legislation relating to discrimination, unfair dismissal and data protection. The courts and tribunal’s interpretation of such issues in the existing legal framework through case law is, however, constantly evolving.”
Managing employees’ use of social media
Social media is something that isn’t going to go away so it’s a reality that employers are going to have to work out how to manage. Mandy has some advice on the steps that employers should be taking. “Having a social media policy in place can be crucial in justifying any subsequent disciplinary action and defending any potential unfair dismissal claims. These policies are also important in trying to limit the harm of non-legal risks such as loss of productivity and risk to reputation. Cases relating to social media are very fact specific. However, one common thread we see is that Employment Tribunals will expect an employer to give employee’s notice of what is expected of them and the consequences of failing to comply. Social media policies should, therefore, clearly specify what access to social media sites employees will have whilst at work; detail whether such usage will be monitored; explain what conduct will constitute misconduct and gross misconduct; as well as the potential sanctions that may be imposed. Whilst the importance of a well drafted policy should not be underestimated, it alone will not be sufficient to protect an employer against the risks of social media. Instead, as with any policy, it should be coupled with training and care should be taken that it is enforced in a consistent manner.”
The need to embrace social media
As you’d expect, Colin feels that it’s crucial for businesses to work with social media rather than to try to work against it. “It’s time to pay all things social and digital more respect. If you run a business and you ‘don’t have time’ to maintain profiles across several social networks then I would suggest your business is in serious, serious trouble. You also need to recognise that your staff are all using social networks and ‘banning’ them is a foolish, short term solution. Embrace social and digital, give your staff some training and guidance on how to use the networks responsibly, build profiles for your business on the various channels and start reaping some of the benefits.”
Thank you to Marta, Colin, Gillian and Mandy for speaking to us. We hope that this article has provided employers with some food for thought on how to deal with the fast-moving world of social media and its role in the workplace. Image by Alan Reeves, used under Creative Comms licence. Other images provided by interviewees.