The Secret HR Director: Show me the social media

So the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said a firm that read a worker's Yahoo Messenger chats, sent while he was at work, was within its rights. Judges said he had breached the company's rules and that his employer had a right to check on his activities.

Mr Barbulescu was dismissed because, although it was his employer who had asked him to set up the Yahoo Messenger account to respond to client enquiries, he had used the account to send personal emails to his fiancée and brother. The employer had monitored the account, and found the evidence to present to him. 

In HR, it’s not uncommon to be involved with cases, be it at appeal or investigation stage, where incidents have included spending a lot of time on social media when an employee is supposed to be working.

Getting policies right at the start is critical. Too draconian and they are unenforceable. Too vague and no one knows what they should be doing - policies should help, not hinder. Did Barbulescu even know he was breaching a policy, if the policy isn’t sufficiently well communicated?

This case reminds me of Al Capone. Despite all his numerous crimes, murders and misdemeanours, he was convicted of tax evasion. If you notice someone is always on social media, it is likely that their performance isn’t all it should be. It can be taken at face value – they’re not doing their job because they’re too busy posting photos on Instagram of their kale salad or updating their status to “meh”.  But it’s just as likely to be a symptom of a disengaged employee, an overwhelmed employee or a host of other reasons why there is an issue. Extra evidence may help and it may be relevant, but how does it sit with the values of the employer and will it cause lasting resentment, preventing a resolution?