In a time where social media is everywhere and a business’s reputation means everything, employers continue to try and understand how certain posts on social media can justify an employee’s termination in the appropriate circumstances.
In MacKinnon v Helpline Inc., the Court ruled that an employee’s private, non-confidential, off-duty communications via Facebook
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has held that an employee’s right to respect for private life and correspondence is not breached where an employer monitors the employee’s personal communications at work, subject to reasonableness and proportionality. Whilst this has caused a large amount of media interest in the UK, employers should be aware
The recent decision of United Steelworkers of America, Local 9548 v Tenaris Algoma Tubes Inc, 2014 CanLII 26445 (ON LA) provides an example of how a unionized employee’s off-duty social media behavior can justify dismissal, despite the absence of any reference to social media in the company’s harassment policies.
The grievor was a crane
This article was written by Amelia Berman, an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
It is very common in this day and age for employers to have regard to prospective employees’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts before employing them or for employers to inspect these social media platforms to verify the veracity of sick
In Germany 80% of all internet users are registered in social networks and 70% of all internet users actively make use of social networks. This development is also increasingly having an impact on the world of employment.
Social media and recruitment
In general, German data protection legislation allows the employer to collect and use an
The impact of the use of social media in the workplace has regularly given rise to controversies and debates as how this subject is to be handled by a company’s management. The current state of employment law is still not entirely settled in this respect. It is however possible to provide some guidance on the
The use of social media in Australia continues to grow on a daily basis. There are now over 13.4 million daily users of Facebook, 3.9 million active users of LinkedIn and over 2.7 million monthly users of Twitter (Source: Social Media Statistics Australia). There is a good chance that one, if not all of
This article was written by Douglas de Jager, a candidate attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
The right of striking workers to picket is an important tool in the collective bargaining process. A picket traditionally involves the gathering of striking workers in a public place to demonstrate against their employer or to create
In Canada Post Corp. and C.U.P.W. (730-07-01912) (2012), the grievor, a postal clerk with 31 years of service, was discharged after management became aware of her inappropriate postings on her 
Facebook account. The postings were made over a one-month period and contained a number of derogatory, mocking statements about her workplace and supervisors. The employer
WhatsApp messages in which an employee expresses his opinion about a superior in an offensive manner can be sufficient reason for the employee’s instant dismissal. For employers, therefore, monitoring social media use by their employees pays off, and the importance of a good social media policy is ever increasing.
In a recent case, a colleague