When social media comes to the party
ARE you partying tonight, or already drowning your sorrows after ill-judged actions? I’m not talking about your political preferences or tactical voting mis-hits of yesterday. This is about behaviour of a different sort.
This will be my last column before 2020 is upon us – and it comes with some sage guidance from a legal group well known to motorists and business owners.
However, its top tips for entering January without those hind sight wish-i-hadn’t-done-that regrets have little to do with the way you, or others, drive cars. Instead, it has relevance for employers and employees when in seasonal celebratory mode.
DAS Legal Expenses – providing insurances against the cost of legal claims for and against your interests – is the highest profile part of DAS Group but within its family of companies is DAS Law.
Predictably, it’s a bunch of lawyers who, in line with their normal client duties of care, have decided to share information on how to enjoy the work Christmas party. Lawyers telling you how to enjoy yourself? I know, it sounds a bit like your old maths master discussing the finer points of breakdancing.
Moving on, it doesn’t want to put a dampener on the season of fun or stop you letting your hair down, but it does seek to pour some sobering cold water on the excesses that can get both employee and employer into a lot of serious trouble.
The thorny issue of social media, now a major headache in terms of control, is the key subject here. In essence, beware of sharing colleagues’ antics on these channels. It can be difficult to know where to draw the line when it comes to festive antics with any ‘wild’ behaviour likely to be recorded and shared on social media.
Whether the party is in or out of the office it should be treated as an extension of the workplace with both employers and employees conducting themselves appropriately.
Louise Newbould-walton, Associate Solicitor at DAS Law, says photos, videos and the social media sharing medium offer-up both contemporary and older types of issue.
Let’s start with the traditional – and give it a twist. If photos and/ or videos are taken without an individual’s knowledge or consent, who owns the images?
“The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides that the author of a photograph is the person who creates it,” advises Newbould-walton.
“The person who takes the photograph or video will own the copyright unless (it) was created by a person in the course of their employment. In this case the copyright will be owned by the employer.”
And sharing on social media – can the subject of embarrassing images demand they be removed or sharing stopped?
“In (the) UK there is generally no right to privacy where an image/video is taken in a public place. In a case involving the model Naomi Campbell, the court determined that the publication of photographs taken in public would only be prevented if they were obviously private or were offensive in some other way.
“Most social media companies have policies in place that although the creator of the photo/ video is the owner, once they are uploaded you are granting a licence to that social media company to use or allow others to use that photo/video.
“Due to the lack of privacy laws, the courts are generally relying upon decisions in previous cases for their findings. Publication of photographs can be prevented if they were commissioned to be taken but were then used for an unauthorised purpose.
“The author of the photo/video would need to delete the photo/ video from their social media account for it to be removed. However, if the photo/video has been shared by another user it is unlikely that it can be removed.
“If the photos/video belongs to an individual, then being able to get photos/videos removed from social media is highly unlikely, especially if the photo/video has already been viewed/shared. The legal recourses available to prevent or remove photos/videos are a court injunction, a court order for return or destruction, or damages by way of financial compensation.
“However, if the photos/videos belong to an employer, then with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, it is important to remember that an individual has the ‘right to be forgotten’ and can request that any photos/videos in the employer’s possession are permanently deleted or removed.”
In the wider ‘picture’ there are some simple behavioural rules to be observed, the chief cover-all being the avoidance of gross misconduct.
“The same rules will apply (at the Christmas party),” says the woman from DAS. “Generally speaking, an act of gross misconduct is potentially serious enough to fundamentally breach the contract between employer and employee and justify summary dismissal.
“Employees would be aware that ‘punching Tom from accounts’ is likely to be a gross misconduct offence. At an office party however, the professional line is often blurred, usually fuelled by alcohol – which might even have been provided by the employer.
“Common examples of Christmas party gross misconduct are serious insubordination, harassment, and damage to company property.
“If there is an incident which is sufficiently closely connected to work, then it is likely that the employer will be able to start a disciplinary investigation regarding the matter.”
Enjoy – but be party-aware!