BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TWEET SOMEONE MAY JUST BE WATCHING

While not an avid user of social media myself, many people do use social media in its various platforms to express their opinions on a wide variety of issues ranging from personal to globally controversial issues.

Since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic there has been a large shift for both personal and company images from the image you maintain at your office to a more digital image with many companies moving their brand digitally.

The effect of this is that there are more and more people seeing a particular company’s brand as it makes its way across the internet, as a result it becomes easier for that company’s reputation to be affected. We see this all to often when one negative impression catches like wildfire on social media.

This brings us to the case of Edcon Limited v Cantamessa and Others where an employee was dismissed based on a Facebook post that was posted while she was on leave, using her own computer and her own data.

The Labour court ultimately held that while the general rule is that an employer cannot exercise discipline over an employee while not at work, this is not always the case, an employer who can show that the conduct of an employee has a direct impact on the company.

In the Edcon case, while the post had no bearing on the employee-employer relationship, the employees Facebook page indicated that she was working for Edcon and given the offensive nature of the post, the Labour court concluded and agreed that the conduct of the employee had in fact exposed Edcon to a risk of reputational damage and that the dismissal was fair.

What does this mean for many South Africans who do use social media to post about their adventures over the weekend or the occasional emotionally charge post about something affecting their lives?

Well, given the change in how many companies are operating employees should be cautious about what they post, posting a picture of that third beer on Saturday watching the rugby may land them in hot water. ?

Should you need any assistance as an employee and have been unfairly dismissed or an employer who wants to take the necessary steps in dismissing an employee, Gittins Attorneys Inc. can assist you in protecting your rights.?