The TEch Lawyer - January 2012

Quick look – New ACAS social media guidance

According to a survey carried out by My Job Group the misuse of social networking costs the UK economy £14 billion annually in 'lost time'. It comes as no surprise that employment claims involving social media use are on the rise and ACAS have published a guide for social media in the workplace which includes practical tips to assist employers.

We thought it might prove helpful to summarise the ACAS guidance into one easily digestible bulletin and desktop guide. So here it is!

Social networking and recruitment

ACAS suggests that at least two different recruitment channels are used; Be careful if using social media to screen or vet candidates as you may run the risk of discriminating against candidates; Employees should review their privacy settings. Social networking and managing performance

Ensure you have a social media policy in place dealing with any restrictions on use; Ensure any such policy is regularly updated; Educate employees in relation to the health risks of excessive VDU/IT use and advise that they take regular breaks away from their computer screen; Give clear guidance to employees who work remotely; Use induction periods to establish acceptable standards; Be clear what behaviour will be monitored and what disciplinary sanctions may be triggered. Social networking and bullying

Ensure that any policies dealing with bullying and disciplinary procedures are updated to include guidance on social media; Consider widening policies dealing with bullying to cover cyber bullying outside the workplace; If instances of bullying are reported consider monitoring emails and other electronic activity (to comply with data protection rules employees must be advised they are being monitored). Social networking and defamation, data protection and privacy

Consider developing a social media policy dealing with the use of blogs, tweets and other social media posts; Make it clear that employees may face disciplinary action if they post comments that may damage the organisation's reputation or post confidential information; Decide whether to completely ban the use of social networking sites at work. Social networking - disciplinary and grievances

Set clear guidelines on when employees are seen to be representing the company and what personal views they can express; Include social networking in your disciplinary and grievance policy giving clear examples of what amounts to gross misconduct; Weigh up...