Kent’s leading regional law firm, Brachers and The Rochester Cathedral Business Guild, jointly hosted an informative half-day seminar that looked at the various legal risks of using social media in the workplace.
‘Behind the scenes of social media – do you know the legal risks?’ was held at Commissioner’s House at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard on Thursday 9th May. The seminar was also supported by speakers from Westgate Communications, Kent HR and 7 Bedford Row.
The event welcomed delegates from Kent and Medway businesses. Subjects covered in the sessions included social media policy, protecting confidential information, data privacy and employment relations.
Among other things, delegates learnt the importance of being able to evidence social media abuse by staff before an employee can be dismissed.
They were also told about the case of an employee of a leading technology retailer who was successfully dismissed after they made negative remarks about their firm’s products on Facebook and another who was dismissed after harassing colleagues using the social networking site.
Louise Brenlund, a member of the 13-strong Employment Team at Brachers, organised the event.
She said: “I was thrilled with the turnout of the breakfast event. All four workshops sparked interesting debates and the topics seemed to really engage the audience. Each workshop concluded with a Q&A session and the delegates left the event having learnt about the risks surrounding social media – with many planning to implement their own social media policy.”
Louise’s session was about the implications for employment relations and how tribunals deal with social media issues in the workplace, taking delegates through real case examples.
Future events being hosted by Brachers include:
- June 6th and October 10th: Employment Law Updates, at the firm’s office – Medway House, 81 London Road, Maidstone.
- July 3rd: Seminars in conjunction with CIPD
- November 6th: A maternity and family leave update.
Brachers will also be hosting breakfast discussion forums on dates to be announced Please book early as these are normally popular events. See www.brachers.co.uk for further information on events and booking.
For more information or advice on the legal risks of social media in the workplace call Louise Brenlund on 01622 776405 or email her at louisebrenlund@brachers.co.uk
Related Articles:
KENT LAW FIRM BRACHERS ANNOUNCES NEW MANAGING PARTNER
RISKING YOUR BUSINESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA? BRACHERS LEADS WORKSHOP
BRACHERS CELEBRATES A NEW PARTNER