Protecting your brand from employee social media misuse
There is now an established production line of employees exposed for posting ill thought out tweets or Facebook status updates. The case of Kelly Stone, a recruiter condemned by the public on social media for gloating about stopping individuals’ benefits, is the latest well publicised incident of public disapproval going viral.
Whilst this may seem to be a matter of concern only for the individual, this would be to overlook the potential consequences for the employer’s reputation. In this case Kelly Stone worked for Transline Group. Transline was quoted in the national press and on websites as the story spread, and whilst it has been said that any publicity is good publicity, we are not so sure this extends to cover cases of outright public condemnation. There is a chance that this damaging association could have impacted upon Transline’s reputation.
What can employers do to reduce the chances of being caught this way? Short of prohibiting employees from physical access to online tools, an impossibility to achieve, the place to start is in the employment contract and social media policies.
If an employer has to blow the dust off its employee manual each time it is needed, this could signal time for an update. In addition, any updates to policies to take account of changes in technology/social media, should be clearly communicated to employees.
Call us to discuss how we can help you in this area on 01273 236236.
By Ricky Coleman
Legal Consultant
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.