Facebook and work. Employment experts please?

Son in law commented on a post by someone from his work. Called them (work) a BOC (bunch of **nts).
Work have found out somehow and he’s been suspended on full pay.
He’s since apologised, didnt actually refer to anyone in particular, plus it wasn’t done in work’s time.
Can he actually punished for this?
The only thing i can think of is bringing the company into disrepute.

The only thing i can think of is bringing the company into disrepute.

that’s enough for me.

idiot thing to do. If you’re going to slag off work do it in a pub, over a pint, with like minded mates. Not on open broadcast.

Rule #1: never ever ever disrespect your workplace in a public forum!

Yip, that would be gross misconduct at my work and instant dismissal

How on earth can you bring your company into disrepute by making a comment on a social networking site?

It sounds suspiciously like a load of old bollocks to me.

So who bubbled him then?

I hate my boss. I think he’s the biggest **** I’ve ever had the displeasure of working for.

DD, are you self employed?! 😉

Well you can be tried and fined for making a joke on twitter, so I assume dismissal for slagging off your employer is fair game.

darcy, I’ve been waiting to do this for years. You’re fired!

Did he say BOC or bunch of cants?

If the former, he could say he meant anything else he cares to think about. If the latter he certainly hasn’t done himself any favours and should have thought a bit before writing stuff like that.

Facebook Sickie Post[/url]

Basically anything an employer chooses to regard as likely to bring them into disrepute is Gross Misconduct. He might as well have nicked the safe.

should have claimed his dog or a friend had access to his computer/phone.

Agreed it was a bit silly to post something that, especially as its basically in the public domain, but i’d have bullshitted that BOC meant something else entirely. I’d be just as concerned who reported the posting as well.

The younger generation seem to live their lives through facebook these days.
I know of couple who thank each other for a nice meal / evening out. And they live together FFS! sometimes wonder if its just done for show.

Best of chums

I’d be just as concerned who reported the posting as well.

On facebook any of the friends of any of the people who post in the comments can see the whole post, so if there are a few comments then the audience for that exchange is potentially huge. The two people in conversation work for the same company, so all of their collegues that are also on facebook are audience to it, if any of them also comment/like/share the comment then all of that additional persons contacts see that too

Whatever you do in life that could have legal implications then it’s imperative you never ever post it on any site never mind Facebook. Countless numbers of people have been caught out by a quick Google search and Facebook is a prime site for getting info – especially for insurance companies checking fraudulent claims. I once got a telling off where I worked because my relative went for an interview for an engineering apprenticeship and I told him engineerings a dead-end job – as a laugh. But this twonk repeated what I said when he was asked did he know anyone who worked at the company that was doing the interview. Yes you can guess he said me and then repeated what I’d said to MY BOSS!!!!! I was hauled into the office and told keep my opinions to myself so I guess the current Facebook thing that’s happened is vey valid. Even if he doesn’t loose his job the problems back at work will not go away and they will find it very difficult to carry on. Hope it gets sorted out though.

You might as well write a letter to the local paper with the same contents. Facebook is a) virtually entirely public, and b) easily recorded by printing the page.

Personally I’d try and get a job somewhere else and take it as a lesson learned.

Just to muddy the waters, he’s taking redundancy in December, so Im concerned they’re going to blow this out of proportion and use this as an excuse to sack him and therefore not pay him his redundancy.

not Best of Chums then

Now that’s interesting. Get him to see an employment solicitor and see what they say and then if he manages keep his job then make sure he sticks it out until the very end. There might be more to this than meets the eye as it doesn’t surprise me the lengths some companies go to to get out of paying people redundancy pay.

I think he needs to refer to his contract of employment. If it is explicitly mentioned (disrepute) he is probably fecked, but seek advice. Sometimes a tribunal claim can be enough to put the company off and if they were planning on redundancy anyway, might be the least path of resistance for them.

Make sure his company follow due process to the letter, this is another area where he could act even if he is in the wrong.

Main thing is that this must be fought. Businesses do NOT control our opinions and actions in our private life.

I fail to see how facebook is public as long as the privacy settings are locked down.

Hope he doesnt or didnt work for the British oxygen Company, a very reputable company.

Its a a very easy way to get rid of staff without redundancy etc,or just failing staff after an internet trawl.

Would he not have had to identify the co in order to bring it into disrepute?

Box Of Chocolates?
You never know what you’re going to get?
Fired, it would seem….. 😐

As I always tell my form class. Don’t do anything silly; if you do don’t record in photos or video, if you do don’t show anyone or post it anywhere, if you do you’re pretty much caught.

Here endeth the lesson

I fail to see how facebook is public as long as the privacy settings are locked down.

On facebook any of the friends of any of the people who post in the comments can see the whole post, so if there are a few comments then the audience for that exchange is potentially huge. The two people in conversation work for the same company, so all of their collegues that are also on facebook are audience to it, if any of them also comment/like/share the comment then all of that additional persons contacts see that too

I think that clarifies things for you.

Rule #342 NEVER post stuff on the interwebs about your employer which you’d not happily say to your boss/HR/everyone

as an aside, a bloke I used to work with just posted this on FB…

” ****……….Today
we saw Muslims break the two minute silence in central london, with
banners holding “British Soldiers Burn In Hell” & the burning of a
poppy… if you don’t like us English people paying respect for our
brave fighters, then you know where the airport is. disgusting,
…disrespectful b******s! copy and paste this if you’re English and
proud. R.I.P our brave fighters”

Wow! Do you think he will get the sack just for being a stupid dumbfcuk?? He does seem to move around jobs 😀

This is why I am not friends on Facebook with anyone I work for, with or have previously worked with.

That’s what linkedin is for.

i’d be hiring a lawyer ASAP if someone tried this with me. From the OPs statement it sounds like the facebook comment is sufficiently vague that could mean almost anything.

I think that clarifies things for you.

not really I understand that but what I dont get is how its public, how do news reports contain comments about such and suches facebook page etc.

There is precedent for this. Facebook comments are treated the same as a any other public statement such as a letter to a newspaper.

He is in big trouble I am afraid

I think a lawyer would have a field day with this to be honest.

He could go off on stress etc etc never work for months and claim it all on them.

Not that I’m a lawyer but its too vague a comment.

Apparently there are 3 people who have been suspended on pay about this. My SiL, dinnerlady doris and I assume the original poster.
I think he’s foolish for making comments about work full stop, esp when he’s posted from work on his jesus phone in the past.

I know of couple who thank each other for a nice meal / evening out. And they live together FFS! sometimes wonder if its just done for show.

My brother and his wife do similar – and I think the same as you do about it

I’ve never Facebooked (is that a word?) and I don’t think I ever will but I got my job this summer because the guy before me did the very same and slagged off the fantastic company I now work for and got the boot.

So I say thank you Facebook….

anagallis_arvensis – Member
I think that clarifies things for you.
not really I understand that but what I dont get is how its public, how do news reports contain comments about such and suches facebook page etc.

Because someone told them, if you look someone up of facebook you can see who their friends are – go needle them – one of them will be genuinely flattered that a reporter thinks they’re interesting

am i reading this thread right, he is being made redundant, so yes his work are a bunch of c**ts. Can’t really argue that detail.

Friend skived off to play the new Call of duty game. His PS3 is linked to his facebook and going off the achivents he got his boss (a facebook friend) could see he started playing just after midnight for 12 hours straight. He’s been suspended too.