What happens when an employee tweets offensive comments

In this episode of the Podcast I give you a summary of a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case within which the issue of the misuse of an employees personal twitter account resulted in his dismissal for gross misconduct.  In this case the employee Mr Laws tweeted offensive messages (28 in total) on his personal account and although his account and the tweets were unrelated to work he was dismissed for gross misconduct by his employer Game Retail Limited.

Mr Laws was successful with his claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal but the Employment Appeal Tribunal thought that the Tribunal had not applied the correct tests or considered the correct questions when deciding the case.

Particularly you will learn….

• What the correct test for reasonableness of a dismissal is.
• The points to consider when disciplining or dismissing an employee for social media comments.
• Precautions you should take when dealing with social media issues.
• What the decision means for your business.
• The background to the decision.

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week follows the featured case and gives guidance on your social media policy, why you need one and what you should do to prevent issues.

Podcast references

Game Retail Limited v Mr C Laws

If you would like to read a full copy of the Judgement you can find a copy by clicking EAT full decision Game Retail Limited v Mr Laws

What happens when an employee is successful with their appeal

In this episode of the Podcast I give you a summary of a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case within which the issue of reinstatement of an employee following a successful appeal against dismissal was discussed. In this case the employee Mrs Salmon was dismissed for gross misconduct by her employer Castlebeck Care Limited.

Mrs Salmon appealed against her dismissal and between her dismissal and her appeal taking place her former colleagues transferred under the TUPE regulations to employment with Danshell Healthcare Limited.

Although Mrs Salmon's appeal was apparently successful and the decision deemed 'unsafe' by Danshell's HR Director (who had transferred from Castlebeck Care) her employment was not reinstated and so she made a claim for unfair dismissal.

At the Employment Tribunal Mrs Salmon's claim for unfair dismissal was not allowed to continue against Danshell Healthcare as she was not an employee of Castlebeck immediately before the transfer to Danshell, which is a requirement of TUPE.

Mrs Salmon appealed against the decision and the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered whether her successful appeal against dismissal meant she had been reinstated and therefore was effectively an employee throughout.

Particularly you will learn….

• What happens when an employees employment transfers under TUPE regulations
• When an employees employment will be reinstated on appeal
• The importance of getting your procedures right
• What the decision means for your business
• The background to the decision

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week follows the recruitment theme, giving guidance on how to answer a request for feedback from an unsuccessful candidate.

Podcast references

Salmon v (1) Castlebeck Care (Teesdale) Ltd (In Administration) (2) Danshell Healthcare Ltd and others

In this episode #13 of the Podcast I discuss the recent decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which answers the question as to whether under European Law obesity is protected from discrimination. The case Karsten Kaltoft v Kommunemes Landsforening was referred from the Danish Courts to the ECJ to decide this issue.

If you listen to this episode of the Podcast you will understand what the decision actually means rather than the news, which has in my opinion has been hyped up to get attention for the headlines.

Particularly you will learn….

• Why the case was referred to the European Court of Justice
• The facts in this case
• What the decision means for law in the UK
• Whether obese employees can claim discrimination
• Whether you need to make reasonable adjustments for obese employees
• What steps you should take if you have obese employees

HR Best Practice Tip

My HR tip of the week deals with complying with data protection and making your life easier by having a good system for keeping and maintaining employee records.

Podcast references

To read more about the case click on this link Karsten Kaltoft v Kommunemes Landsforening 

To find out more about the HR software system which is guaranteed to save you time go to www.adviceforemployers.co.uk/hr-support