header-logo header-logo

Becoming anti-social

22 January 2016 / Michael Salter , Chris Bryden
Issue: 7683 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail
nlj_7683_brydensalter-

Chris Bryden & Michael Salter consider the risk to professionals of social media misuse

The impact of social media misuse has been felt with increasing effect in employment relationships as social media has continued to insinuate itself into the workplace. There is a burgeoning body of case law emanating from employment tribunals as well as civil courts in relation to claims of wrongful dismissal (as well as many other areas of law). However, what is often overlooked by commentators when analysing such cases, and by human resources departments when giving advice to their organisations, are the added restrictions and consequences for social media misuse that may be imposed on professional employees by their respective codes of conduct and regulatory bodies. Many such regulatory bodies have, at their heart, values which often are diametrically opposed to the ethos of social media interaction, for good reason. For example, the provision of legal advice by regulated professionals is guarded by rules of privilege, confidentiality, form and process; whereas social media champions the mass and instantaneous communication between the poster

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll