Beware, Beware, Whatever You Share' As You Might End Up With More Than A Red Face!

• Published date: 23 December 2021
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Law Firm: Brahams Dutt Badrick French LLP
• Author: Brahams Dutt Badrick French LLP

As we approach what we hope is the final Christmas cursed by COVID-chaos and enforced homeworking, Associate, James Hockley takes a light-hearted look back over the last two years and remembers some of the Zoom stories that grabbed our attention for all the wrong reasons. These stories variously caused shock, laughter and nationwide acts of communal face-palming, yet they all shared the same lesson - by careful what you do, say or show on camera, as it may come back to haunt you!

Jackie Weaver: You have no authority

The start of 2021 witnessed the sudden rise to stardom of Jackie Weaver. "You have no authority, Jackie Weaver" became emblazoned on t-shirts, pumped out across the radio waves, and the talking point in many Zoom coffees. Leaving aside any employment or data protection issues when disseminating recordings of private meetings generally, I, for one, am glad this verbal dual made its way into our living rooms. What better way to get us through the cold, dark winter months than to witness a modern-day Gladiatorial battle set in none other than the Handforth Parish Council. (Did images of Geraldine Grainger, Alice Tinker, Hugo Horton and Jim Trotter spring to anybody else's mind as they watched the drama unfold?). Lesson? If you have (rightful) control over the Zoom eject button then don't be afraid to use it - especially if a colleague has the temerity to question your authority.

The oversharing Spanish showerer

Not to be outdone by a British council in the year that Brexit happened, Torrelavega municipal council in Spain showed that Spanish councils, too, can get down and dirty... or, rather, up and clean. In a bid to kill two birds with one stone, councillor Bernardo Bustillo dropped his pantalones and jumped in the shower whilst listening in to a council meeting that was being livestreamed. The problem for Bernardo was that he had failed to turn off his video and, in so doing, became the real butt of the joke. Whilst his colleagues looked on in horror and tried to alert him via calls and messages to his phone, this wave of panic was drowned out by splashes of water behind a partially frosted pane of glass. After finishing cleaning behind his ears, real horror struck as Bernardo climbed out in full view. All jokes aside, poor Bernardo was left offering to tender his resignation following Shower-gate. Lesson? Always check and double check that the video is turned off and the microphone muted when showering by stealth.

The Texan kitty

Then, there...