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NLJ this week: Lineker-Gate & the employer’s right to veto tweets

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The dispute over football celebrity Gary Lineker’s tweets captured the public imagination and backfired spectacularly on the BBC, but what if Lineker had been an employee? In this week’s NLJ, Charles Pigott, professional support lawyer, Mills & Reeve, looks into whether employers have rights to restrict their employee’s tweets or other private expressions of opinion.

Pigott assesses the ‘weaponry’ at a worker’s disposal, covering unfair dismissal, discrimination law, victimisation, and human rights.

He writes: ‘People as prominent and popular as Gary Lineker can probably look after themselves, but our domestic law arguably provides insufficient protection for individuals to express their personal opinions on social media when these are in conflict with their employer’s interests and do not amount to the expression of protected beliefs.’ 

Read more from Pigott here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

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