CollinsBensonGoldhill Legal Briefing

THE LEGAL ISSUES RAISED BY SOCIAL MEDIA 

by David Morrison

The development of “social media” sites such as facebook, linked in, twitter and my space present both opportunities and potential pitfalls for businesses.  On the one hand, these sites are a new form of communication offering a novel way to reach customers and suppliers in the marketplace. They represent a business opportunity for companies such as “Groupon” which has grown exponentially in two or three years by marketing offers through social media. On the other hand the use of social media sites and the internet generally by employees is increasingly giving rise to employment law cases.

In a recent case, the manager of a Wetherspoons pub was found to have been fairly dismissed for gross misconduct, having made inappropriate comments about some of the customers on facebook. The manager and some staff had been subject to verbal abuse from these customers and had asked them to leave the pub. One of the customer’s daughters also made a series of abusive telephone calls to the manager. No one criticised the manager for the way she had handled the customers who had been abusive.  However, in contravention of Wetherspoon’s internet usage policy, the manager then engaged in some banter on facebook during work time regarding the incidents, thinking that the conversation could only be seen by her friends. She was wrong and a relative of the customer saw it and complained about some of the remarks she had made. Wetherspoons decided that the remarks brought the company into disrepute with its customers and dismissed her without notice. She accepted that she ought not to have made the remarks on facebook but argued in mitigation that she had been upset by the behaviour of the customers. Wetherspoons took the view that there were other means available to her to discuss the customer’s behaviour, such as use of a “hotline” to senior managers; and that the use of facebook was inappropriate. This view was upheld through the company’s appeals procedure and ultimately by the employment tribunal.

For employers, the case demonstrates the importance and usefulness of having a carefully drafted policy on internet usage and blogging. The dismissal would certainly not have been upheld without a clear breach of the company’s policies which had been notified to the staff.  From the employee’s perspective the decision looks harsh, as she was reported for a remark which she probably regarded as private that was seen by someone for whom it was not intended. The tribunal did suggest that it would have preferred the matter to have been dealt with by a final written warning, but found that the decision to dismiss was within the range of reasonable responses available to the employer.

A typical policy relating to an employee’s use of social media will include appropriate restrictions covering employee use of company IT resources, employee use of company intellectual property assets and confidential and privileged information, employee use of third-party intellectual property, protection of third-party confidentiality and privacy, prohibition on harassment or bullying of other employees, prohibition on discrimination; and a prohibition on negative comments about the company, its employees, business contacts or competitors.

CBG, has for over 20 years (amongst other things) specialised in representing restaurant and clients in the catering trade in practice areas such as commercial property, business services and dispute resolution.  If you require legal advice on an issue to which this article relates and would like details of our competitive fee arrangement, please contact Mr David Morrison:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 020 7436 5151  in the first instance and let’s see if we can tailor a legal service to suit you.