It raised a number of employment law issues and in our first blog we looked closer at the aspects of harassment and bullying.
The report also exposed serious concerns surrounding the use of social media.
Examples of the “objectification of women” were found as well as “inappropriate messaging” on social media, often in circumstances of a power imbalance between managers and junior employees, or instructors and new recruits. This included instances of inappropriate conduct or comments which questioned whether women were fit to carry out the job.
The report also found that employees were posting sexualised images of themselves, wearing items of uniform, on the adult-only platform Only Fans which many employers would see as leading their organisation into disrepute. There was no clear guidance on this, leaving management confused about how to deal with it and the behaviour tolerated.
Other issues included:
- Social media posts including sexualised images
- Posts levelling aggressive criticism at the police
- The use of racial slurs
It was concluded that the service’s social media policy was not fit for purpose.
In this blog we take a look at social media policies and why they are important.
What is a social media policy and why is it important?
Social media is the term used for internet-based tools used on computers, tablets, and smartphones that enable online users to interact and share information. This could be by way of video, audio, images or text, shared privately or publicly.
A social media policy or social media usage statement is where employers decide and communicate to staff in writing what is and what is not acceptable when using the internet, emails, smartphones, and social networking websites at work. This can be a policy in a staff handbook, such as part of a general IT and communication systems policy or a standalone social media policy.
If drafted well, it can give clear guidelines for employees on what they can and cannot say about the organisation they work for and what they can and cannot do with respect to business and private use of social media. For example, if a business allows limited private use in the workplace, the social media policy should make clear what this means in practice, with no scope for misinterpretation.
The social media policy should also provide protection for the organisation against damage to their reputation, and to employees from online bullying.
What to include in a social media policy
When developing a comprehensive social media policy, it is important that employees clearly define what is and what is not acceptable behaviour at work when using social media.
There should be clear reference to the separation between business and private use.
When drafting a social media policy, it is worth considering:
- Reputation and brand management, including;
- Who is able to comment on behalf of the company, the types of comments that can make and on what platforms.
- Who needs to sign off social media responses, if necessary
- In terms of personal posts, whether inclusion of any logos or uniform is permitted – particularly relevant in terms of the use of SWF&RS uniforms on Only Fans.
- How negative comments and defamation by employees about other staff, the business, its suppliers or other business contacts will be handled, including reference to the company’s disciplinary policy.
- How company devices can be used for personal communication and/or social media, if at all, and whether personal devices should be used for official social media communications on behalf of the company.
- How social media use by employees will be monitored.
- How employee, client and other business contact information will be protected.
Why are social media policies important for your business?
Social media policies are important because postings on social media platforms can affect communications among employees and how they treat each other, as well as how businesses promote and control their reputation. If not managed correctly by a business, there is the potential for negative implications including time theft, defamation, cyberbullying, freedom of speech and the invasion of privacy.
With a clear and enforceable social media policy the risk associated with employee misuse of social media, and subsequently the potential for either a toxic culture to creep in, or reputational damage, is reduced.
Social media policy best practices
There are a number of things which can be drafted into a company’s social media policy, which are fair and compliant with the law, but also protect the business and their reputation.
For example:
- Use a disclaimer stating that any opinions expressed are personal and do not represent the views of the organisation.
- Signing up using a personal email address rather than a company one.
If a social media policy is breached and disciplinary action is to be taken, it is also important that this is consistent with the way in which offline behaviour of the same type would be managed.
Social media policies should try to provide practical examples and clear definitions of what, for example, ‘defamation’ might include and what is ‘confidential’ to the business. Definitions of sensitive business topics which should be avoided should also be provided, such as business performance where negative comments could damage reputation and further damage any performance deficiencies.
There should be some guidance on recruitment and use of social media to ensure managers are aware about what information they may disclose and what is confidential to the business. There should also be guidance on the range of opinions they may express to ensure they do not make any comments or judgments in assessing applicants by looking at their social networking pages, as this can be discriminatory and unfair.
Other company policies which may be related, such as an anti-bullying policy should also reference anti-cyber bullying. If there is an IT policy, any monitoring of emails or internet activity should be mentioned there too.
Monitoring of employee emails and social media may be helpful to employers so that they can keep better watch on what is being said about their business, but this monitoring must be proportionate, and the employer must provide information to the employee about the monitoring that is being conducted.
Any limitations on the use of social media should not go beyond what is reasonable. An example of a policy which is too stringent might include potentially infringing the human rights of the employee or impinging on the freedom for employees to report illegal activity.
In 2017, ACAS released a research paper on strategies for effectively managing email at work. Employers may also encourage staff to use the ‘delay send’ function when sending an email out-of-hours, so that colleagues receive emails during working hours, not during their leisure time which has the potential to be viewed as harassment.
It is advisable that business’ promptly respond to any complaints of harassment or discrimination via social media, just as the organisation would in non-social media contexts.
Ideally, social media policies should be discussed and agreed with employee representatives or trade unions, if applicable, so that employees feel able to express their opinions but not in a way which is damaging to their employer.
What about a social media policy for the company’s official accounts?
It is important that a company makes clear whether employees’ personal use of social media will be encouraged, discouraged or tolerated, but also how company official social media accounts can be used and by whom. It can be of benefit for HR to advertise using social media such as LinkedIn or marketing to tweet about a promotion on Twitter, but how do you ensure that your business gets the best from social media?
Access to company social media accounts should be limited to a small number of trusted employees who must have approval, as clearly set out in a social media policy, before making public comments on social media. This also allows for consistency in terms of tone.
How can we help?
If you need assistance in writing or reviewing a social media policy, or you have disciplinary issues that have arisen from not having one in place, our employment law experts are able to offer specialist advice. Please contact Daniel Wilde on 01633 244233 or email wilded@hevans.com
