the do’s & do not’s of dismissals & social media

Under the NHS Test and Trace scheme, some sectors are required to keep records of staff, customers and visitors for 21 days in line with GDPR protocols to ensure the personal data is only used for the intended purpose and is securely disposed of or deleted after 21 days. This became mandatory from 18 September 2020.

The guidance states that, with regard to data protection, consent is not required and the information can be shared for health and safety purposes, unless in respect of sensitive personal data such as attendance at religious or political meetings, in which case consent is recommended. It should be made clear why the information is being collated, to those concerned. Please visit the following link for more guidance on this and to see if your business is required to collect this personal data in line with GDPR: https://www.gov.uk/ guidance/maintaining-recordsof-staff-customers-and-visitors-tosupport-nhs-test-and-trace

Health and Safety: Covid Workplace Risk Assessments It is also recommended that there should be an audit trail showing the communication of the measures put in place to make the workplace Covid secure. This audit trail should also include any signage that is used and the advice given to employees and visitors, as well as any disciplinary action taken, following a fair disciplinary process and as a last resort, if these measures are not observed.

If you feel your organisation needs more support then advo hr is here to help. In the first instance email us on info@advogroup.co.uk to start a conversation.

The reason for such a hard line is that the other levels of disciplinary down to the impartial nature of the sanction cannot be used if deemed BBC. To have presenters who are necessary. the face of the BBC sharing political views may be seen to bring the If you do become aware of any of impartiality of the BBC into question the examples mentioned above and therefore potentially cause or similar, it is vital that evidence reputational damage. is collected in case there may be What does this mean for other disciplinary policy. employers when dealing with conduct issues relating to social Practical steps may include taking a media? screen shot of the post(s), keeping Employees are entitled to a private have viewed the post or may have life and to say what they like in a viewed this by recording the number personal capacity. The issue then of “friends” or “followers” the comes if an employee uses a employee has on their profile. work social media account in an inappropriate way or says something Other important factors include on their personal social media any complaints received regarding account that is detrimental to the the posts, any evidence of loss or employer which is likely to bring damage the business has suffered it into disrepute. Other examples as a result of the posting e.g. losing include posting content that could a client or not winning a tender as be considered abusive, harassing or a direct result of the social media discriminatory. post. Next steps would be to get There may be instances where employee to delete the offending an employee has an opinion that post may be the easiest and most is not supported by the employer effective way of doing so. Following and if this will cause reputational this, a decision will need to be made damage, this may be something to as to whether disciplinary action is be investigated. appropriate.

If it has been made clear to employees what is and is not acceptable then it would be possible to take disciplinary action if required, following on from a fair and thorough investigation.

It is worth keeping in mind that what an employee does in their personal time would generally need to be of a very serious nature and impact the employer negatively in order for there to be a legitimate basis for a fair dismissal. That does not mean a need to investigate under the a record of how many people the post removed. Simply asking the It is recommended that employers have either a social media policy or reference within another policy to the rules relating to what is and what is not acceptable to post on social media. advo hr can provide you with a Social Media policy for insertion into your Staff Handbook.

Please do get in touch if you would like our assistance with this.