Snipped from: Changing Times News * Number 88 * 7 September 2007 Changing Times News is the TUC's fortnightly online bulletin on work-life balance issues. Visit the website at http:// www.tuc.org.uk/changingtimes
Facing up to the age of Facebook The UK's Facebook users are 3.5 million accidents waiting to happen, warns the TUC in new advice for both employers and their staff. In guidance available on workSMART, its working life website, the TUC advises employers that they should have in place policies covering the use of email and the web, including social networking sites, at work. The TUC advice says whilst employers are completely within their rights to forbid staff from using sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo in work time, a total ban may be an over-reaction. Instead the TUC suggests that sensible employers, realising that their staff spend much of their waking hours in work and lead busy lives, should be trusted to spend a few minutes of their lunch break 'poking' their friends or making plans for outside work. The guidance accepts that employees are paid to do a job, and it is clearly not acceptable for someone to spend hours a day on social networking sites when they should be getting on with their work. However, policies drawn up with the involvement of staff can set out will be and what will not be allowed. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Simply cracking down on use of new web tools like Facebook is not a sensible solution to a problem, which is only going to get bigger. It's unreasonable for employers to try to stop their staff from having a life outside work, just because they can't get their heads around the technology. Better to invest a little time in working out sensible conduct guidelines, so that there don't need to be any nasty surprises for staff or employers.' The TUC also warns that employers who take equal opportunities in recruitment seriously should not be tempted to check out the profiles of job applicants on Facebook. For the links below, click on the URL at bottom and page down to the article: TUC news release and briefing for employers [pdf]. TUC advice for employees. The Guardian. http://www.tuc.org.uk/work_life/tuc-13682-f0.cfm _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.isoc-ny.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
