Another "tweeting" Mess?
The furore surrounding Diane Abbott's comments made on Twitter is another stark reminder of how much damage the social media network can cause. If your business engages in "tweeting" or any other form of social media, you must remind staff, whether it be in your staff handbook or by a memo, that they should steer clear of anything political or discriminatory and keep their "tweets" short and concise.
They should not make sweeping generalisations about race, gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, religion or disability. Remember, the employer can be liable for an act of discrimination of an employee which is done "in the course of employment".
Consider your policies, expand where necessary. If you don't have a policy, make sure you do have a policy and, now and again, always remind your staff by email about how they should conduct themselves on social media sites.
• Therefore, revisit your policies; have you clearly set out the boundaries that your staff have to follow?
• If you do not have a policy, then make sure you introduce one.
• Even if you do have a policy, intermittently let your staff know that they should remind themselves of that policy when using social media.
For more information on the above or for advice on any other employment issue please contact our employment department on 020 7354 3000 or e-mail employment@colmancoyle.com
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Author: Krishna Santra
Date published: 1st February 2012