Employees Beware Of What You Post On Facebook!

An employee of an Italian business posted a derogatory comment on Facebook about her employer, using her mobile phone, which read something along the lines of "I've had enough of this sh**** place", complaining about the ever-changing tasks being assigned to her. The owner of the business read the post and, after seeking legal advice, decided to terminate her employment. The woman quickly deleted the post and unfriended the owner of the business from her Facebook friends, after contesting her termination.

Both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal found in favour of the employer in that the dismissal was lawful. The Court of Appeal commented that social media platforms were public spaces where content which is potentially defamatory has a huge reach. The Court found that there had been a substantial breach of the fiduciary bond which must exist between employer and employee. The employee challenged these findings for one final time before the Highest Court (the