Originally published by The Times - 9 September 2003
Employers are finding that staff misuse of the internet is not always just cause for dismissal
Bosses are more likely to discipline staff for misuse of e-mail and the internet than for dishonesty, violence and health and safety breaches combined, recent studies show. Even so, many employers are not aware that, without adequate e-mail and internet policies, they may be breaking the law if they sack an employee for internet misuse — even for something as serious as accessing pornography.
This issue is highlighted by a recent tribunal case. A senior human resources officer, Mr Thomas, was dismissed by the London Borough of Hillingdon for accessing pornography on the net at work. Although the staff handbook stated that this amounted to misconduct, the employment tribunal held that it was not "gross" misconduct and so the dismissal was unfair.
