Managing employees who abuse their Internet access could be hindered by company policies written before the advent of Web 2.0 sites, an employment expert believes.
The warning comes after disciplinary action against 18 police officers who bragged about car crashes on Facebook.
Employment law specialist Ben Doherty of Pinsent Masons, the UK law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, said that many company policies are written with only email use and Web site access in mind and should be updated.
“It used to be about what people viewed in the office, not what they did at home,” he said. “But anyone can be a publisher now, at work or at home, and office policies sometimes overlook that. They’re too focused on Web 1.0 sites.”
The 18 officers of the Metropolitan Police were members of a group on Facebook called “Look I’ve had a Polcol.” Pocol stands for police collision.
The Telegraph was able to reproduce some photos from the Facebook group. One depicts a uniformed officer smiling at the camera and giving a thumbs- up next to a wrecked police car. The group had 200 members and had stories about collisions with pedestrians. The group is no longer active.
Fourteen of the officers received written warnings and four were given words of advice. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan police said,” The behaviour of those individuals clearly fell short of that high standard expected and were subject to the appropriate action.”
“Clear guidance was circulated to all staff in July 2007 stating that such behaviour leaves officers and staff open to allegations/complaints of unprofessionalism. The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] is clear that the conduct of all staff, whether on or off duty, must meet a high standard.”
Doherty said policies should go beyond the use of office systems. “It’s important to make sure that your staff understand they should conduct themselves appropriately at all times, not just during office hours and not just on office systems.”
“Policies can make this clear by addressing the use of blogs or social networking sites out of hours, to help staff understand that when they post content to the Internet that could identify them, they should do so in a manner that’s consistent with their contract of employment,” he said.
