An article in todays Irish Independent highlights results of research carried out which shows that there are more Irish online than the EU average. The research, published by Mediascope, an in-depth analysis of media consumption on a European basis, shows that a higher percentage of Irish (80%) are online when compared to the EU average (65%).
This can pose problems for employers, as firstly employees accessing the internet during working hours can be damaging to the overall Company productivity, and also the dangers of employees posting sensitive information or damaging information online.
From an employment law context, loss of productivity can create an issue for employers as they need to find the most appropriate way of dealing with an issue. Initial transgressions can result in an informal warning for the employee, and perhaps the distribution of a Company memo reminding all staff of the Company policy regarding the unauthorised use of Company IT systems. Further breaches of the policy should however result in some form of disciplinary action, depending on the severity of the incident.
Minor issues, such as checking emails, reading online news, or accessing social networking sites during working hours may only incur a minor level of warning, however repeated incidents would result in an increasingly severe level of warning. Loss of productivity is difficult to quantify as per the case of O'Leary v Eagle Star(2003) ELR233 where accurate estimates were asked by the tribunal of the employer and were unable to be provided. For this reason it is important to note this type of issue would not be considered Gross Misconduct.
The secondary concern can perhaps be more detrimental to a Company. Inappropriate IT usage can lead to instances where the Company is discredited publically, or an employee is dismissed due to their actions. the seminal Irish case on this is Meighan v. Dyflin Publications (UD 582/2001) where an employee was dismissed for disseminating pornographic images via his work email. In the hearing the employee had been found to be unfairly dismissed as there was no clear breach of the Company policy on the appropriate use of IT facilities, they did however state the employee made "an enormous contribution" to their own dismissal.
The tribunal in their decision stated "it is unlikely that the use of the internet for unauthorised purposes will amount to a sufficient reason justifying an employer from dismissing an employee without notice in the absence of a clear written statement to this effect in the Company's policy.." However even where a clear policy is in place, an employer should examine all the facts and view the matter in the appropriate context prior to taking any decision.
All facts will be looked at by a tribunal before making a decision, and the impact of a persons actions will ultimately determine if the outcome favours the employer or the employee. in the case of Walker v Bausch & Lomb limited (UD 179/2008) the employee posted on an internal intranet that jobs were to go. this message was quickly taken down. The employee was dismissed and the decision found to be disproportionate as the employee had 15 years service with the Company, and it was put up on a system which few people looked at before removing it and limiting any damage to the Company.
The overall context must be viewed when looking at social networking and issues stemming from this, and an employer should assess all the facts and the ultimate impact of an issue before making a decision. The most important part for an employer is to ensure that there is a policy in place on this and the employee is fully aware of such policies prior to any action being taken.
