Got a Facebook addiction? You should be worried. Recent research by the Guardian reveals over 1,700 public employees have been sacked or disciplined for internet or e-mail misuse since 2004.
There's no doubt that many office staff use the internet and e-mail for their own use. But where should employers draw the line?
Networking or not working?
Employers are increasingly banning access to Facebook from work computers (we spend an average of 143 minutes a month logged in), with nearly 70 per cent of UK businesses reportedly banning the site during work. Bad news for those who like to check up what exes and old friends are up to.
Blogging or blagging?
About 70,000 web logs appear each day. Because bloggers generally discuss various aspects of their daily lives, a good many mention their workplace. Employers are concerned about blogs revealing confidential information, according to Ben Wilmott, employee relations adviser for the CIPD. "You could even get employees making racist or sexist comments about their workplace in their blog," Wilmott says.
"If a blog is written in work time or on an employer's computer, the employer could well be exposed to claims of defamation, discrimination or harassment," Jonathan I'Anson, a legal associate, warns.
An employer could apply to the High Court for an injunction to prevent an employee leaking further confidential information and even sue for damages. Hyde Clarendon College suspended an employee because her blog, which revealed that she took five pupils to a bar, before letting them stay at her home, put the school's reputation at risk. Waterstones also dismissed an employee for describing his employers as "Bastardones" and his manager as "Evil Boss."
Web surfing or drowning?
Time wasted surfing the web looking for holidays is one issue. But viewing inappropriate material has huge legal ramifications for both employers and employees. Staff are not only putting their jobs at risk, but if the material they are viewing is illegal, they may be reported to the police by their employers.
James Pacenza, a former employee of IBM in the US, is suing the company for £5m in a wrongful dismissal case after he was fired for visiting adult internet chat rooms while at work. Pacenza said he is addicted to online chat rooms and IBM should have offered him treatment instead of firing him.
E-mailed or nailed?
We can all remember incidents of embarrassing e-mails that had been sent to one person and ended up going halfway around the world and being splashed across the newspapers. A study by Employment Review found that most organisations had to take action when employees sent inappropriate e-mails (76 per cent) or accessed inappropriate e-mails (68 per cent).
In 2006, Hertfordshire Police disciplined 140 officers and staff for circulating an e-mail that showed an image of a black man being decapitated which was entitled 'Do not run from the police.' Also in 2006, more than 100 employees at BAE Systems were investigated after sexist and racist material was found in e-mails from workers at two Lancashire plants. A company spokeswoman said great care had been taken to ensure employees were made aware of policies regarding IT misuse and the potential implications. And six employees at Swansea College were sacked and 70 other disciplined after sending lewd e-mails which included the college logo is on the bottom.
While the internet gives employees access to a vast amount of information they need to be aware of the risks involved in downloading and using such information. More and more employers are establishing policies forbidding downloading or forwarding offensive, obscene or indecent material from the internet and that a breach of policy will result in disciplinary action, potentially including dismissal.
