The separation between work and your personal life used to be simple. Then came the internet and social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat and AudioBoo have changed not only the way we communicate socially but also with whom.
If you set up the accounts properly, Facebook and Twitter are surely private? Therefore, you would think that we can say what we like. Not so.
Employee Tribunal Division
Employees can be fairly dismissed for comments they make on a social networking site, even if they access the site on their own personal computer or smartphone, outside working hours, and their profile page does not state where they work. The test is whether their conduct relates to their employment relationship with their employer.
There have been a series of UK employment tribunal decisions over the past few years dealing with social media and employers, particularly as a result of employees acting in a way that would bring their employer into disrepute, or which could damage its reputation.
To avoid uncertainty employers should have an effective social media policy which sets out clearly, with examples, what behaviour outside work they consider is and is not acceptable, to ensure its reputation is protected.
Read the full article here: How to Manage Your Online Reputation