Christine:  But first things first, we've got a little bit of work for you guys today. If we can have a look at some of the polls. We've got Maria in the background doing all the technical stuff thankfully, so we don't have to. So, let's have a look at the polls there, Maria.

So, the first one, "Does your organisation have a social media policy?" You can click yes or no.

Social media was one of the first topics that Seamus talked about back in 2017, which it must have been a completely different world back then for social media. You can't really imagine everyone debating a sports presenter tweeting back in 2017.

So, 74% of people have said yes, they have a social media policy. That's fantastic, isn't it, Seamus, that people have been listening?

Seamus:  Yeah, absolutely. And I would dare say, Christine, that that is well improved from the last time that we discussed social media. But I think it also shows the relevancy of social media now for all of our different businesses and different industries that we work in, and the sort of reliance that we almost have now on social media in terms of getting products out there, getting business promoted, and also the way that things like LinkedIn are used for individuals in terms of promoting not only themselves, but also their business as well.

And I'm sure there's good and bad with LinkedIn. I'm sure that a large part of the whole recruitment explosion that has happened from the pandemic, you see a lot of fingers pointed towards LinkedIn in relation to that. And it is such an important recruitment tool now as well.

But obviously, along with the social media side of things, you have the responsibility that comes with it. And I think that we've all sharpened our pens quite a bit. We're all very much aware now that if we put something on social media, it's stuck there. Even if we delete it, even if we remove it, it's stuck there, and the problems that it's created.

And every so often, even though we've learnt the lessons, there are matters that arise. I think the Gary Lineker one has really been the most recent set of circumstances. And I suppose that the issues around that matter were more sort of social issues within the country as well, and also the very high level of support that he obtained from his colleagues and from public as well.

And it was interesting to see how that all unfolded with such a big corporation like the BBC, who are very, very careful in relation to the social media aspect for their presenters and even how they are very tight and controlled in relation to things like public opinion and things like that. They deliver the news, they do that bit, and the uncomfortableness of what it is.

What we also got to see a little bit of through that was how they work around their contracts and how these contracts are pored over. Because one of the big issues here was that Gary Lineker had said that he felt that he had flexibility and some freedom, and that that was negotiated at the time of the contract.

So, for me, that was really interesting that maybe parts of terms and conditions that we would automatically think about negotiating are at such a high level and how important that has been really as they've worked toward the resolution.

Christine:  Yeah. Great, Seamus. We'll get on to that more later on.

So, if we can have a look at the second poll there, Maria, when you get the chance. There we are. "How would you handle a rescinded resignation?" Really want to understand what your thought process is. So, firstly, would you tell them the resignation has already been accepted? It's a bit of a polite, "Tough luck". Secondly, would you welcome them back with open arms, as there's a talent shortage? Or would it depend on their performance?

I think we've all had situations where people resign and you're absolutely devastated. There are other people that resign, you're not quite so devastated, are you, Seamus?

So, let's see. And that's exactly what we've gone for. We've gone 85% there saying it would really depend on their performance. That's kind of what I was thinking was going to be the answer. What about you, Seamus?

Seamus:  Yeah. Generally, whenever someone puts in their resignation, it's fairly split down the line of we're pleased about that or we're very unhappy that they’ve decided to leave.

And really, it will come down to a number of factors. Performance will be a big one. Personality will be another one. We all have those employees that do really good work, but they're really challenging to work with. So it depends.

And I think it also depends on the nature of where we're at specifically at the minute. I think you'd mentioned previously, Christine, hopefully we're coming off the backend of a very heavy recruitment drive for everybody. Things seem to have settled slightly. Every so often, you get a whole different aspect. But even on the likes of LinkedIn, you don't see as many of "I'm starting a new position" in comparison to what it was like 12 months ago. So things have hopefully settled down in that respect.

But it is a really interesting topic around resignation, specifically whenever employees come back and say they would like to rescind the resignation. There's a number of factors that we'll get into, but you really need to think about how the resignation has come around.

And it's one of those important aspects that I think that discussions are warranted and merited at the time when someone does resign. I think it's a positive step for organisations and businesses to get feedback from their employee as to why that has come around.

Sometimes they volunteer it very easily and you'll get a lot of things that you don't want to hear. And at other times, you'll get maybe a frank and straightforward answer. But there are lessons in there for organisations to work from. But when it comes to rescinding the resignation, it's a tricky legal area and there's lots of case law out there in relation to it.

Christine:  Yeah. Brilliant, Seamus. Thanks very much for that.

So, let's get into it then. Let's have a chat about the social media aspect. So, we've mentioned Gary Lineker already. Obviously, that was absolutely . . . I mean, the story was just so huge. It was all anyone was talking about for about a week and a half, wasn't it?

But there have been more local cases recently. This morning, if you checked the news, there is a councillor running in the local council elections here in Northern Ireland. He's been caught out. Somebody's looked back on his social media profile on Facebook, I believe. Ten years ago, he made some extremely inappropriate comments around domestic violence and domestic abuse. And he's now being kind of pilloried by the press for that.

We had also high-profile cases. They always seem to happen in the summer, maybe because of the season in Northern Ireland. You get people doing chants that they shouldn't be doing caught on camera at local GAA clubs or local Orange Lodges. And their employers react quite swiftly to that, don't they, Seamus?

Seamus:  Yeah. I mean, it's been interesting certainly. I recall functions on Facebook, and we're going back over 10, maybe 15 years, where people used to put on Facebook where they worked and they used to identify where they worked. And then there would be postings.

I've had many concerning postings of employees where there could be a potential association between the employee and the place of work. And really scrutinising the posting and maybe looking at their wider social media at the time.

I suppose now there are so many different forms of social media as well. You had mentioned about going back to the days of when it was Bebo and MySpace and things like that, and it was one at a time.

Now, if you go to post, you can post across so many different platforms. And we all know that each of those platforms might have a specific audience and different function that you might post for from a business perspective. But it's blurring that line and crossing that line in relation to what is the business side, the professional side that you're making postings on and then the personal aspect of it as well.

And what it comes down to, I suppose, ultimately is that if companies are aware that employees are using social media to promote their business, promote their job, promote themselves, it's important that there is really a clear and robust social media policy that is there.

It's great to see from the poll up there that 75% of our listeners there have a policy in place. Because when it comes to dealing with those really tricky issues around postings and where issues arise, you really do need to be relying on your social media policy to see if there is a clear position set out by the company in relation to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

And some of the more recent case law has delved into what training has been provided to staff in relation to social media. How is that being communicated to the staff as well?

So, very much so you almost think you're on a knife-edge with social media at times. And we see it time and time and time again that it's not just what happens in the workplace in relation to social media or what is posted about work events, but it tends to be what happens outside of the place of work and within the employee's personal time and on their personal devices.

But it's that association aspect of it that has been giving concern for the more recent cases that we've come across.

And we're aware of very swift moves by employers to disassociate themselves from actions of employees in a number of those cases that have tribunal proceedings issued, whether they've resolved or whether they're waiting to be heard at tribunal.

But it's clear that the issues will come around with relying on the basis of a good social media policy that you have and a clear understanding by employees of what is acceptable and what's not acceptable.

I was looking there at . . . Legal-Island put up yesterday in relation to their . . . There was a poll done in relation to ESG and what employees would expect from an employer and how they mightn't work for a certain employer if they didn't feel that their views aligned with the ethos of the company. And that very much, again, has to be reflected back with the employer's ethos and making sure that the employees fall in line with that as well.

And the really dangerous side of it is that there is maybe postings from 10 years ago that have been forgotten about and that can come out of the park all of a sudden. Now, usually more so if you're in a public arena, those sorts of things could come back to bite.

But there's no doubt as well of the fact that in and around recruitment, employers are vetting employees. They're looking at their social media before offers are made and they're giving consideration to whether or not the person is going to be a good fit, is going to be aligned with what's happening in work.

Christine:  Yeah. And I think there is the danger, though, isn't there, Seamus? I mean, a lot of the employers that we're talking about, the stuff that's happened in Northern Ireland with various chants and stuff being done in rugby clubs or GAA clubs, wherever it might be, they're coming out with a statement.

You want to distance the company from that type of behaviour, but at the same time you have to be very careful not to be judge, jury, and executioner because there still needs to be a fair legal employment process done once you get back in the workplace.

There needs to be the formal disciplinary process. So, you can't be out there saying, “This is abhorrent behaviour", too strongly even if it is jerk reaction. So, how would you deal with that, Seamus?

Seamus:  Well, it's a reminder that we have a statutory disciplinary procedure within this jurisdiction and basic one, two, three procedure that we've all had drummed into us now for a long time. The position on that is that if there's any failure at all to follow the statutory procedure, the dismissal could be considered an automatic unfair dismissal.

So, if you're an employer and you come to get legal advice and the solicitor or counsel, if it is counsel, looks at it and says, "Well, you've missed a step here", or, "Look, you've jumped too soon" . . . Even sometimes those public statements made by employers distancing themselves from the employee could be viewed as almost tantamount to termination of the employment, or the employee could feel that certainly on seeing that they've been dismissed. It's really important that employers do follow that through.

Obviously, there's a modified disciplinary procedure for very select circumstances that you can use, but as the advice would go, it would be that you do take a cautious approach.

You probably do need to take a speedy approach and move quickly in relation to it, but not so quickly that you're going to do something that is automatically going to look like a termination that's going to put the business at risk in relation to an unfair dismissal claim.

And if you're trying to dampen the flames of maybe an issue that is concerning the reputation of the business, if you end up at a tribunal, it's a public forum. And if there is ultimately a decision, the likelihood is that the principles of open justice apply and that your case is going to end up as a published judgement available for everyone to see.

If you take any given Sunday and you read any of the local papers here, you generally always will hear about some form of tribunal case that has been reported. And again, it's those sort of wider reportings that are done with more serious discrimination cases that the Equality Commission may have backed and things like that as well.

So, it is important that it's dealt with appropriately at the time, but there is a risk of jumping too soon.

And ultimately, a tribunal may say, "Well, this employee's actions have resulted in termination". And even if the employer went through a full procedure, you might have ended up with the same outcome. But you're going to have to run a tribunal hearing for that, and that's where the risk of that sort of more open aspect is going to come along.

So, I think you do need to move quickly, but I think that if you move too quickly and deny the employee their employment rights, you're going to be in difficulties.

Christine:  Yeah, brilliant. Just mindful of the time, Seamus, I just wanted to let everyone know there's a very useful Labour Relations Agency guide that has been dropped into the hand-out section there of GoToWebinar. You can access that. That's all around social media, so it's worth a read.

But really, I was going to sum up this particular section. My particular takeaway from this section would be to have a social media policy. So, that small percentage of you that don't, get one.

No matter how small your organisation, even if you've only got one employee, they are on social media and they will be using it. And they may put something out that you're not going to think is great and you need a document that you can point to. I mean, having a policy just is understanding for you and for them, and avoids confusion if the time comes.

Second takeaway really is you can monitor, but it needs to be within reason. And again, make sure your employee knows this. How will they know it? Because it's in your social media policy. So, it really is worth getting one.

And one very important thing to remember is you're not the thought police. People are going to have views that differ from you, and that's absolutely fine. What we're talking about is the more extreme end of the spectrum where people are maybe doing paramilitary chants, or things like that, that would be deemed unacceptable. So, you're not the thought police, but monitoring is fine. People do expect it nowadays.

Legal Island Training Resources for Your Staff

Social Media in the Workplace | eLearning Course

Are you responsible for overseeing the implementation of training for all employees in your organisation? Legal Island’s Social Media in the Workplace eLearning course will help employees understand how the misuse of social media can impact them and their employers, sharing practical examples and useful tips on how to use social media responsibly.

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