When Will Employees Learn - Facebook is Public!

Guest post by Christine Broad, solicitor, BlandsLaw

Yet again Fair Work Australia (FWA) has this week dealt with another unfair dismissal claim relating to the use by an employee of Facebook to post inappropriate coments about his employer.

The employee had an issue with non-payment of his commission and went on what has been described as an "expletive-filled"..."aggresive anti-work rant" on his Facebook page. The employee claimed that the postings were made from his home computer and out of work hours and therefore not relevant to his employment, however FWA rejected this submission and found that this did not make any difference; yet another example of the blurring of the line between work and private lives where social media is concerned.

Deputy President Deirdre Swan found that it was invevitable that the employee who was being targeted would find out, regardless of the fact that she was not a "Facebook friend" of the employee, as there were 11 other employees who were Facebook friends, and sure enough it didn't take long for the supposedly private comments to become public.

The employer in this case did have a policy dealing with the need for employees to be courteous and polite, as well as harassment and bullying policies, although due to the extreme nature of the coments in the case, FWA comented that comon sense would dictate that this is unacceptable behaviour however you view it.

Interestingly though, thte employer did not have a social media policy - something we believe every employer should have - so that there is no argument about what is or is not appropriate, and there is a clear understanding of the fact that social media sites are not only PUBLIC but are also PERMANENT. In our technological age social media is everywhere, whether we like it or not, and the responsible thing for employers to do is to acknowledge that and manage it in the best way they can. The more progressive businesses are using social media to their advantage, rather than trying to exclude it from their workplace, which in my view is the smart way to deal with it as it's not going away any time soon.