EMPLOYMENT LAW FEBRUARY 2019
Employment law SOS
This month, our legal expert explores the ramifications
of inappropriate images on social media, a dispute over
music on the factory floor and what happens when annual
staff bonuses are less than previous years
BY TRACEY MARSDEN, PARTNER, CMS www.cms.law
We’ve had reports that
one of our apprentice
workers, a young lad of just 18,
has been uploading pictures of
himself acting inappropriately
on the shopfloor onto social
media. One of the accusations
is that he has been posing
topless while operating a
welding torch. We’ve had a
look at his Facebook page
and can’t find any evidence of
such images, but his accuser is
adamant that they have been
deleted. It’s fast becoming one
person’s word against another,
so how do we determine who
to believe?
The photographs this employee
has uploaded to Facebook
have the potential to damage
your reputation if clearly
associated with the company.
Furthermore, the operation of
a welding torch whilst topless
is a clear breach of health and
safety requirements. You would
therefore be justified in pursuing
disciplinary proceedings against
the individual involved.
The difficulty you have is
that there is no evidence to
substantiate the claims made
and, given that the photos
cannot be seen on Facebook,
the employee is likely to deny
ever having uploaded them. You
also have no evidence that he
did actually engage in any of the
inappropriate behaviour alleged.
You should be wary of making
assumptions about his guilt
because of his previous character
or age. Ideally, before choosing
to believe his accuser, you
should see if you can find any
corroborating evidence, such as
CCTV or other witnesses to the
inappropriate behaviour or other
individuals who also saw the
photos on Facebook.
If you cannot find any further
evidence, one way to tackle
the problem could be to hold a
training session with all of the
employees. You could use this
session as an opportunity to
remind all staff of the standards
of behaviour you expect from
employees and also the relevant
health and safety requirements
they are expected to adhere to.
You can give a strong message at
this session that inappropriate
behaviour will not be tolerated
and that any individuals found
to be engaging in inappropriate
behaviour may be subject to
disciplinary action – up to and
including summary dismissal for
gross misconduct.
There are several laws around
noise in the workplace generally,
particularly concerned with
health and safety. For example,
employees should not have
prolonged exposure to excessive
noise and that noise should not
impact on communication across
the shopfloor so as to mask the
sound of warning signals or
distract workers carrying out
potentially dangerous tasks.
Background noise from a radio,
provided it is played at an
appropriate volume, is unlikely
to contravene these laws.
Whilst you therefore have
discretion as to whether to
allow the employees to play the
radio, in doing so, you will need
to balance the interests of all
members of your workforce. You
should consider what proportion
of the workforce are in favour
of having the radio, and what
impact it has on productivity
and on employees with any
particular medical conditions.
You might have an obligation
not to allow music to be played
at a lower volume or not at all
if it places an individual who
suffers from a disability at a
substantial disadvantage (e.g. if
it significantly impairs the ability
of someone with mental health
issues to concentrate).
One solution is to prohibit
the use of the radio and allow
those who want to listen to
music to continue to do so
through their own headphones.
However, this may disappoint
those who have paid for the radio
and could have health and safety
consequences if that interferes
with their ability to hear.
As with the previous
question, it may be worth
calling a meeting with all of the
employees to discuss, giving
those who prefer to work in
On our shopfloor, people
are free to listen to music
as they work, as long as it
doesn’t interfere with their
job. A group of operators have
recently pooled together to
buy a radio for the shopfloor,
so they can play tunes and
not have to worry about
headphone wires getting in
the way. As a management
team, we don’t have a problem
with this, and we have the
relevant music licences.
However, a couple of members
of staff have complained about
the noise levels. How do we
appease both parties? Are
there laws around radio noise
in the workplace?
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