Have you ever said anything negative about your employer on Facebook?

If so you may not ‘like’ the recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in The British Waterways Board v Smith [2015] UKEAT/0004/15.

In this case the EAT found a dismissal was fair, partly due to an employee’s Facebook posts in which they referred to their “w***** supervisor” and complained: “going to be a long day I hate my work”. It did not help that the employee also referred to drinking vodka whilst on standby for work.

The case is particularly interesting as the Facebook comments were made two years before the dismissal and the employer had known about them for a significant period of time.

Sensible employers have social media policies which guard against derogatory comments made on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and similar. Bold employers are not afraid to use them to discipline and dismiss.

For an initial free of charge consultation, please contact one of our Employment Law experts on 0113 201 4900 or employment.law@emsleys.com.