If you leave all your social media passwords belong to us

shadowqueen · 20 June 2017 at 8:17AM

I'm currently job-seeking and before I signed an offer I asked for a copy of their employee handbook.

Bear in mind this is not for a marketing or sales company nor is it a marketing or sales position.

One clause states that upon leaving, you must hand over all LinkedIn contacts made during your employment as well as your personal LinkedIn password.

Another clause states that if you are suspected of having said something "wrong" on your personal social media you must hand over all social media passwords.

This isn't enforceable right? It's contravening most social media's terms of use as it is.

Other gems from this employee handbook include a ban on all shoes that management doesn't approve of, including shoes with heels or sandals and a very vague clause about doing you for misconduct if they feel your sickness is your fault including all sickness caused by taking in hazardous activity.

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

Undervalued · 20 June 2017 at 8:48AM

shadowqueen wrote: »

I'm currently job-seeking and before I signed an offer I asked for a copy of their employee handbook.

Bear in mind this is not for a marketing or sales company nor is it a marketing or sales position.

One clause states that upon leaving, you must hand over all LinkedIn contacts made during your employment as well as your personal LinkedIn password.

Another clause states that if you are suspected of having said something "wrong" on your personal social media you must hand over all social media passwords.

This isn't enforceable right? It's contravening most social media's terms of use as it is.

Other gems from this employee handbook include a ban on all shoes that management doesn't approve of, including shoes with heels or sandals and a very vague clause about doing you for misconduct if they feel your sickness is your fault including all sickness caused by taking in hazardous activity.

So you feel your social media terms and conditions should trump a contract you choose to sign with your employer?

Many of the other items you mention are really quite common in employment contracts.

If you are not happy I would suggest you look for a job somewhere else.

soolin · 20 June 2017 at 8:51AM

The only one of those that is slightly odd to see in print is the requirement to access Facebook , however, many employers use other methods to see what you are writing if they think it is detrimental to them.

The rest I would think are reasonable and not uncommon in the modern workplace, can I ask if you have been in employment recently as your post suggests you are out of touch with what employers now expect from employees.

soolin · 20 June 2017 at 8:56AM

Actually this just reminded me, although I am self employed I tend to work within the same field and often get to see emails sent to employees. One large respected employer has just had to remind all staff about the dress code in this weather- which includes fine detail right down to the minimum amount of strap/sleeve required - basically saying shoulders must be covered, no spaghetti straps or vest tops unless covered by a cardigan which is not removed. I've also in the past worked for a city institution that required all staff to have their legs covered either with trousers, although ladies were allowed to wear tights/stockings that gave an appearance of more than 10 denier.

It is also not uncommon for staff use of PCs, including their facebook and other social media pages to be monitored- and anyone using work PCs, even in their own time, were subject to checks as to what they wrote.

davetrousers · 20 June 2017 at 9:05AM

The invasion of privacy by Facebook is much greater than any employer

shadowqueen · 20 June 2017 at 9:15AM

I work in tech and yes I've been in work many years now, moving around every one to two years. I have four offers on the table currently and while this job is on paper the best, it's the only one that's mentioned these things.

If I get sideswiped by a lorry while cycling to work and have to go to hospital do I need to worry about being done for misconduct because cycling is a hazardous activity?

I personally can't believe you're all so willing to hand over all your social media passwords.

shadowqueen · 20 June 2017 at 9:17AM

The policy also covers things you may post on social media in your own time and using your own internet/devices - I'm fully aware that what you do on work premises can be monitored.

Malthusian · 20 June 2017 at 9:26AM

shadowqueen wrote: »

If I get sideswiped by a lorry while cycling to work and have to go to hospital do I need to worry about being done for misconduct because cycling is a hazardous activity?

Possibly if your bosses are idiots, but that would be the case with or without the contract.

Although it's infra dig round here I agree with the OP. Obviously she can find another job if she doesn't like it, that's not the question. The question is whether she should like it or not, and in my opinion she shouldn't, for largely the same reasons as she gave. Less that it's against Facebook's T&Cs, more that it's unenforceable.

"You're leaving, so as per the employee handbook we'll need your LinkedIn and Facebook passwords." "No." "Well then you're sacked." "I'm already leaving." "We'll sue you for damages." "Then I hope you have a good lawyer, because he'll tell you not to be so silly."

On the other hand the shoe policy is perfectly normal.

shadowqueen · 20 June 2017 at 9:28AM

I guess I'm spoiled in tech - all the blokes are in shorts and flip flops today.

Undervalued · 20 June 2017 at 9:42AM

shadowqueen wrote: »

I guess I'm spoiled in tech - all the blokes are in shorts and flip flops today.

Exactly. In some places that is fine, others have a very tight dress code and that is fine too.

If you choose to expose yourself to higher levels of physical risk that is fine but why should your employer (who will be paying you sick pay) underwrite that risk? Even SSP these days has to be paid by the employer, it is not recoverable from the government.

Finally, there is a duty not to bring your employer into disrepute. That is not limited to working hours. Even if it is not specifically spelt out in your contract it is still an implied duty. So, anything you do outside of working hours, particularly on social media, can potentially reflect badly on your employer. Again tight rules in that regard are not uncommon is many fields of work

shadowqueen · 20 June 2017 at 9:49AM

Undervalued wrote: »

If you choose to expose yourself to higher levels of physical risk that is fine but why should your employer (who will be paying you sick pay) underwrite that risk? Even SSP these days has to be paid by the employer, it is not recoverable from the government.

I'd understand if it was just a case of "if you've got a hangover we'll get cross" but I think there should be a bit more clarity about what exactly constitutes a hazardous activity so that if, for example, you get into a car crash on your way to work, you're not sacked for misconduct, especially if it wasn't your fault.

Undervalued wrote: »

So, anything you do outside of working hours, particularly on social media, can potentially reflect badly on your employer. Again tight rules in that regard are not uncommon is many fields of work

Sure I'm not about to badmouth an employer or do anything particularly contentious on social media. I'm in tech but I'm not stupid. If they were to say something like "You need to take down $post because we think it could be construed as talking about the company" or "We'd like you to delete your LinkedIn contacts from $client company" then sure that's a bit more reasonable.

If you leave all your social media passwords belong to us

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free