social media policy |

It has just been revealed under the Freedom of Information Act that eleven civil servants at Iain Duncan Smith’s department for work and pensions have been sacked for using Twitter or Facebook with 116 DWP employees who have faced disciplinary action for blogging and social networking offences since 2009 and being issued with a variety of warnings.

The DWP said use of Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites was “completely restricted” for most of its workers. The only employees allowed to use the sites are those who have a “genuine requirement for access”.

This news shows how important it is for organisations to have a robust social media policy in place as part of the employee handbook. By having a written policy on using social networking, an organisation can help protect itself against liability. A well written policy can give clear guidelines to managers and employees on what is acceptable and help provide definition between private and work lives. An employer should encourage responsible use of social media if access is provided to social networking websites. However employees need to know that their employer will look at all their postings in accordance with data protection monitoring rules and should be aware of these consequences. A clear link to the disciplinary policy is essential with guidance on how it will be applied.

A policy should encourage good practice and include details on network security, acceptable behaviour on the use of internet, emails, hand-held technology, the use of privacy settings and the use of blogging, tweeting and online chat rooms. Issues of confidentiality and a ban on representing the organisation when not permitted to do so should also be covered as well the use of company logo and branding. Guidance on the avoidance of harassing, obscene, defamatory, threatening, or other offensive content in all social networking should also be included. It is important to point out the requirement not to criticise or damage the organisations reputation in any way.

Social media is here to stay so confident businesses need to set the ground rules on behaviour. If used in a negative way social media can be an enemy but if used in a positive manner, as it was originally designed to do, supported by a robust policy, it can be used to harness employee engagement.

By having a social media policy in place it can provide defence at an employment tribunal and mitigate any risk for employer and employee.

In recent years Twitter, Facebook, U Tube, and LinkedIn have become part of everyday language and life as well as blogging. Employers have to make up their mind whether to offer access to social media or not and if so decide how their employees can use social media in the workplace which means drafting clear guidelines in a policy. Many employers to avoid potential misdemeanours deny access on workplace IT equipment with firewalls. Problem solved perhaps, but most mobiles and smart phones these days provide access to the internet and, therefore, social media sites which many cunning employees will use. A social media use policy needs to cover the eventuality of an employee not performing in their duties distracted by the addictive attraction of what their contacts are getting up to.

Many employers, on the other hand, do provide unbridled access with the caveat of “acceptable use”, which requires definition in terms of which sites are acceptable to access and transparency in terms of monitoring.

Social media sites are a public forum for all and sundry to view what they are writing about. Employees thefore need to be careful what they share with the world. There are examples of employees describing the wonderful time they are having on social pursuits when they have called in sick to their employer and other employees who have openly criticised their employer. An HR policy needs to cover what actions the employer will take if such activity comes to light.

When drafting a social media use policy it is important for an employer to consult with the workforce and/or unions before finalisation in order to get buy in. Implementation of the policy should be followed up by line manager training.

New recruits should be made aware of the policy as part of induction.