Not much can be done as far as companies protecting themselves from the actions of disgruntled employees on social media is concerned, but it also does no favours for the employee in question and could lead to legal action.
This is the opinion of Webber and Wentzel attorney Annari Harvey. “Companies can unfortunately not do a lot to stop disgruntled parties from damaging their reputation in general and via social media,” she said.
Harvey explained that an employee following this action will ultimately prejudice themselves from a value perspective.
In a recent example, an ex-employee of a transport company was warned not to continue with their defamatory actions on social media and was threatened with legal action.
“This person has continued with their actions and a criminal charge had been laid against them,” said Harvey. “SAPS removed this person’s laptop from the business premises and is not prepared to return it to the Business Rescue Practitioner (BRP).”
This has hindered the business rescue process for the company in question because the BRP cannot attend to their obligations without this item, as all the employee information is stored on it.
“As a result of this the charges against the employee have been withdrawn on condition that the laptop be returned to the BRP, but to date the laptop has not been returned,” said Harvey.
These actions have hindered the business rescue process for the company, affecting the business owner and employees.
The moral of the story? Taking action against an employer on social media does more harm than good to everyone involved and should be avoided.
