You are annoyed about something at work or you have been building up anger and one day you have had enough so you vent out on social media. You feel relieved; you even get comments supporting your views. A victory! However this ‘victory’ may be short lived as the next thing you receive in your in inbox is an invitation to a disciplinary hearing. There has been a number of Employment Tribunal cases dealing with dismissals because of what an employee has said on social media and these kinds of cases are here to stay.
Hence, letting off steam could cost you your career. However this was not the case for employees working at the Tech Company Mozilla. Employees expressed their views on Brendan Eich being promoted to CEO. The reason behind their disapproval is that ‘In 2008, Eich gave £600 to the campaign to pass California’s Proposition 8 – a controversial proposal against same-sex marriages.’ (Metro, Friday, April 4 2014). Employees complained about the company’s decision and some said that what Eich believed in, did not represent what Mozilla stands for. The workers’ voice on social media was heard and Eich stood down from his position.
This story shows how social media is impacting our place of work and although we have had social media around for some years this is still a new concept for many employers. There are employers who have a policy to deal with social media so if you are an employee you may want to check this out. If, on the other hand, you are an employer you may want to have one drafted sooner rather than later.
Roselyn Knight is a partner at the London employment law practice of Gannons and specialises in employment law and increasingly advising on matters involving misuse of social media and on-line data bases. Roselyn works with employers and employees unsure of their position.