A Northern Ireland industrial tribunal has provided a useful example for employers of circumstances in which it can be fair to dismiss an employee for offensive comments made about a work colleague on Facebook.
A model policy on the use of company property, which deals with the care of company property, consequences of misuse of company property, security of company property and return of company property.
An increasing number of tribunal cases involve employees making work-related comments on Facebook. This case shows that derogatory comments will by no means always justify dismissal.
This case involves an employer that, rather than deal with problems with an employee's behaviour and attitude by giving him a series of warnings, used them as an excuse to dismiss him.
An employment tribunal found that a golf club fairly dismissed an employee for excessive personal internet use during working hours, despite the fact that it did not have a formal policy on staff use of the internet.