Conduct | Can you fire an employee over social media posts?

Employees may be laid off for a number of reasons; they may be underperforming and missing deadlines on a regular basis or disrupting teams and workplace culture with a toxic attitude.

Whatever the case may be, Gov.co.uk stated that employers must have a valid and justifiable reason for the dismissal of an employee and show that they have acted reasonably in the circumstances.

Recently, however, a spate of social media related employee incidents have hit headlines, with many resulting in an individual being fired from their job. For example, in June this year an Asda employee was removed from their post after it was discovered that they breached the company’s social media policy by posting an ‘anti-religion’ sketch by comedian Billy Connolly on Facebook. Similarly, a staff member at bakery firm Panera Bread also faced the boot after she posted a work-related video online that ‘exposed’ how the business prepared its mac and cheese dish.

With around 3.2billion people in the world currently using social media according to Source Shareable, it’s clear that these platforms are ingrained into our private lives, which may suggest why some people are using either their Facebook or Twitter page to share content that may unknowingly have a detrimental impact on their career in the future.