Wednesday 5 June 2013

Social Media Podcast 55 - Social Media and Employment Law - Are you taking the proper precautions?


The latest installment of the Social Media Podcast saw Innes Clark, Partner and Head of Employment Law at Morton Fraser, and Gordon White discuss the world of social media when intertwined with the world of employment.

Innes touched upon many topics - some of which even took Gordon by surprise.

For instance, we’ve all heard of employers wanting to take ownership of contacts an employee has amassed during his/her time with the company. Many, including Gordon, thought this would be rather hard to enforce, but Innes explained how such an occurrence could take place.

The example of contact ownership is just one instance. Innes told of how most employers aren’t actually up to speed with social media - with only around 25% of UK businesses having a social media policy.

Moreover, one of the most commonly used sentences on Twitter was also touched upon - views are my own. Innes explained how such disclaimers aren’t as watertight as you would think.

During the podcast, a number of case studies were touched upon, including one of a teacher in America who was fired because she refused to give the headteacher her Facebook login details - something which is actually against Facebook’s terms of use.

However, such an event shouldn’t happen, especially with the likes of data protection laws protecting the public in the UK.

Did you know more and more employers are using social media as a means to find suitable employees? The number of of potential employers using social media to influence their hiring decisions is incredibly disproportionate to that of candidates who don’t think what they post and tweet is relevant.

This shows more people need to take social media more seriously - either if you’re job-hunting, or currently in a job.

There are many other points and pitfalls which Innes and Gordon’s discussion touched upon. To listen to the podcast, just click on the player below.

If you’ve any other points or tips on this subject that haven’t been covered, feel free to leave a comment below letting us know what they are.


We hope you enjoy the podcast, if you have any comments to make or topics you would like us to discuss, please leave them here on the blog or on our Facebook Page.

Play the podcast here:






Would you like a presentation on social media and customer service?
We're offering a range of bespoke or generic presentations on the topic of social media and customer service, if you would like to find out more please go to the following link: Are you prepared to lose control?

Have you listened to the digital copyright podcast?
We continue to see people using images, video content and other files taken from the internet without consideration to potential copyright issues. We would encourage all of our listeners to download Social Media Podcast 50 which clearly outlines what you should and shouldn't do with images sourced online. Find it on iTunes now.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO TALK ABOUT?

If there is a specific topic you would like us to cover in a future podcast please let us know. You can email gordon@fatbuzz.com or send us a message on Twitter @MediaPodcast or, you can post it as a comment on the Social Media Podcast Facebook page.


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