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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

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

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NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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