Is this classed as Gross Misconduct ??

Uncertain

serious_saver wrote: »

Yes the acas helpline is a call centre but they can still provide advice and point her in the right direction if she does need a lawyer. I don't understand why you would not encourage someone to contact an organisation that specifically exists to deal with situations like this.

But they cannot provide legal advice. They can provide little if anything more than can be gained from carefully reading their publications and downloads. These at least have the advantage of being checked by lawyers and are accurate. The apparently individual "advice" from the call centre is not checked on an individual basis.

Time and time again you see people posting here saying ACAS said XXXXXXXX when it is simply wrong. Obviously it is possible in some cases that the person has genuinely misunderstood what was said but the fact remains that they now have an impression from an "official" source that will end up putting them at a disadvantage.

I fully accept that one tends to notice the problems and that many people do get the correct information but there can be a real danger.

In a way it is a bit like NHS direct. It has its uses but it does not replace a face to face appointment with your doctor.

dickydonkin

Aftr reading some of the bizarre posts on this thread - I have now come to the conclusion that there are some people who just don't realise the implications of referring or making reference to their company or employees on a social network site.

I have lost count of the number of past threads that relate to disciplinaries and Facebook.

Will people never learn?

I would suggest the OP takes heed of the advice and comments provided by Jarndyce - but I suspect it may be too late.

FOX_HOUND

Freedom of speech has been lost to the whims of Thatcherite employers.

Pete111

FOX_HOUND wrote: »

Freedom of speech has been lost to the whims of Thatcherite employers.[/QUOTE]

.....Or possibly just employers who (not unreasonably) expect their employees not to make public and derogatory comments about the hand that feeds them in writing and in what is most likely a clear breach of both their contract of employment and company policy.

OP, you have had some sound advice here and some awful advice. I think you know which is which.

sho_me_da_money

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I agree with the above. It is worth fighting after very detailed consideration of exactly what was posted. If as OP says, it was only along the lines "Its !!!! that **** is making people redundant just before Christmas..." then the damage to be considered is releasing the information into the public domain and an undirected comment about how unfortunate the timing is. Nothing appears directed at the reputation of the company along the lines of "**** are out to spoil Christmas" It is a fine line to be argued.

Ahh! The company could not claim it is not in the public domain - they have told their employees and presumably not sworn them to secrecy. If it would have an impact on stock price, they would be expected to declare it to the Stock Exchange anyway as I understand it.

Bang tidy comment above.

!!!!!! - You cannot be dismissed or punished for speaking about your company on a social networking site. Well you can, but it depends on what has been said and the negative impact it has on the company.

I believe, the comment as we know it, has little to no impact on the company's reputation. The company could argue that the redundancy information was not to be made public however, the onus would be on them to prove that they made it clear to their employees that this information was sensitive and should not have been circulated.

I am willing to bet my left testicle that if this lady was dismissed on the grounds of making this exact comment, she would win at Tribunal.

sho_me_da_money

Also, i'd like to point you again to some case law:

This comments made in the following case are FAR worse than what has been said in this situation:

http://www.baineswilson.co.uk/articles/unfair-dismissal-facebook-comments

And here's a case where Apple won against the claimant:

http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/111262/apples-dismissal-of-employee-for-adverse-facebook-comments-not-unfair-or-breach-of-human-rights.aspx

dickydonkin

!!!!!! - You cannot be dismissed or punished for speaking about your company on a social networking site.

You can if your company's IT or social network policy determines you cannot.

If you feel the need to bite the hand that feeds you, then you obviously don't like the employer - in which case, change jobs!

sho_me_da_money

dickydonkin wrote: »

You can if your company's IT policy determines you cannot.

Yea off course but im inclined to believe their isn't one in place for this case.

dickydonkin

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

Yea off course but im inclined to believe their isn't one in place for this case.

That 'inclination' is yet to be determined - I suspect there are many employees who are not aware of all of their company's policies and procedures.

However - irrespective of the absence of an IT/social network policy or otherwise, there is still the potential of bringing the company into disrepute however it was broadcast.

meer53

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

Yea off course but im inclined to believe their isn't one in place for this case.

Do you honestly believe that it was a single comment which led to this action ? How many solitary posts do you see on FB ? I bet there was a whole conversation involved, it would be interesting to see what was actually said !
Anyone with an ounce of common sense would never post anything about their employer or their job on FB.