You may have seen in the news that NatWest has blocked messaging services including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices in an attempt to limit conversations between staff to official channels of communication only. Reports have also suggested that it’s an area that the FCA is interested in.
Using messaging services for work is of course commonplace but it can lead to significant problems. If you use these services for work, this newsletter contains essential advice.
Teams, WhatsApp etc are really useful for sending quick messages, but therein lies the first problem! Message are so quick and easy to send that often people don’t give enough thought to what they’re writing and how it might be received. It’s all too easy to relax and say something you later wish you hadn’t.
Professional correspondence often becomes more personal but remember that these messages will not necessarily remain confidential. Consider what happened during the pandemic: unbelievably Ministers and their advisers, MPs and civil servants used WhatsApp in the expectation that their messages would remain confidential but they were later scrutinised very publicly and the results were highly damaging. The Bank can of course access Teams messages sent at work.
We’ve dealt with numerous Bank cases in the last few months that have referred to or relied on messaging service evidence, the most common of which have been grievances where staff have fallen out or grudges have been held. People with longstanding Bank service have been subject to disciplinary action for gross misconduct, with complaints often made about the tone of messages; their content and their timing.
Group chats on services like WhatsApp can be problematic because you don’t always know who is reading messages or how messages will be interpreted by people: something said in innocence could be read in an entirely different way. And that doesn’t even start to consider the deliberate misrepresentation of a message to settle scores.
Using WhatsApp and other similar services to share jokes with colleagues at work, particularly on work devices, is another highly dangerous area. Anything that’s in any way discriminatory or apparently aggressive could lead to allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Such cases normally lead to disciplinary action, often ending in dismissal. In 2020, the Employment Tribunal considered a case that was not connected to the Bank, where an operations clerk was awarded £25,000 compensation by an Employment Tribunal after she discovered a WhatsApp group set up by other members of staff with the specific purpose of racial abusing her and another member of staff. It has been reported that the number of Employment Tribunal cases in which WhatsApp messages are used as evidence has tripled since before the pandemic.
Protect Yourself: Our Advice
1. Our very strong advice is not to engage in any ‘banter’ of any sort with colleagues on messaging services, however easy and tempting it may be. We see so many cases that involve such evidence, particularly where subsequently the people concerned have fallen out. The evidence can be highly damaging and can lead to dismissal.
2. Don’t express views on the sensitive issues of our day (politics, race, religion, immigration etc.) on messaging services or other media. Managers and/or other staff may want to see the back of you and ‘going off on one’ on messaging services is a good way of helping to fulfil their wishes!
3. When writing messages, keep it professional. Think to yourself: how would this message be received if it was being read by a senior manager or even an Employment Judge? If you’re in any doubt, don’t sent the message.
4. Think about the timing of a message before you send it: does the message really need to be sent outside of work hours?
5. It’s easy for personal and professional boundaries to become blurred in correspondence, you need to try to avoid this happening. Stick to sending messages to colleagues which are relevant only to work.
6. At all costs, resist the temptation to criticise or demean your colleagues in social media or emails. If you do and it comes out you should expect to be sacked!
7. If you need any advice on the issues covered in this newsletter, call us on 01234 262868 (lines are open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday). Alternatively you can email us at 24hours@btuonline.co.uk. Remember that anything you discuss with us will remain confidential.