Social Media Nightmare!

The employment tribunal has recently decided that an employer was within its rights to dismiss an employee who had sent an offensive email to a fellow employee - even though the email was sent from the employee's home computer to the colleague's home computer!

The simple fact that the email was not sent via, nor received by, the employer's computer system did not, in the view of the tribunal, mean that the employer had any less right to protect its reputation.  It does, though, create real conflict between the employer's rights and the right of the employee to privacy outside the work environment.

Beware Facebook entries!!

New Recruit

Giles Betts joins Buckles Solicitors as
Head of Employment

Giles trained and qualified as a solicitor at Mills & Reeve’s Cambridge office from 1997 until 2007. He then worked at Hewitsons from 2007 until 2010 where he was a Partner and Team Leader for their Cambridge Employment Team. Giles joined Buckles in April 2010 as Head of Employment.

Giles advises businesses, the public sector and senior executives on the full spectrum of employment law issues, such as: implementing redundancies and business reorganisations, TUPE, managing employment terminations, conducting disciplinary and grievance procedures and issues to consider when dealing with disabled employees or managing long term sickness absence.

He has extensive experience of managing claims in the Employment Tribunals involving issues such as: unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, sex and race discrimination, unlawful deductions from wages and breach of contract claims. In addition Giles drafts contracts of employment, directors’ service agreements, company policies and procedures and compromise agreements. Giles also has experience in drafting post termination restrictions and advising clients on enforcing such covenants and protecting confidential information.

The Legal 500 describes Giles as “approachable and commercially minded”.