Social Media Policies – Essential Elements
Published on: 29/01/2020
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Leeanne Armstrong Managing Associate, Lewis Silkin (NI) LLP
Leeanne Armstrong Managing Associate, Lewis Silkin (NI) LLP
Leeanne Armstrong 1 CROP

Leeanne has extensive experience advising a range of regional, national, and international employer clients on various contentious and non-contentious employment law issues. She is dual qualified and practises in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales.

She assists HR, management, and in-house legal teams with a range of day-to-day employee relations issues, such as poor performance, ill health, disciplinary matters, and grievances. She also provides advice and guidance to clients on redundancy exercises, contract and policy reviews, senior employee exits, and the transfer of employees under TUPE.

Ten years ago, it was not that common for employers to provide specific guidelines for social media use. However, in today’s increasingly digitised workplaces, a social media policy forms an essential part of the employee handbook.

With social media touching many areas of modern life, both in and out of the workplace, misuse can potentially lead to issues such as bullying, discrimination. victimisation, harassment, reputational damage, and breach of confidential information.  In other words, any issues that can arise in the workplace through conventional means of communication can also arise in relation to social media communications – perhaps to an even greater extent, given the ease with which social media facilitates the wide broadcasting of views.

As an employer, setting

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 29/01/2020