Employers warned to 'beware of blogs'

Law firm Glovers said there were now around 30 million blogs available online, but recent research had shown that the majority of bloggers were unaware of their legal position when publishing over the internet.

The term 'blog' comes from "web-log" - an online diary or commentary featuring regular written entries, normally displayed in reverse chronological order.

Sikin Andela, employment lawyer and partner at Glovers, said there was still some uncertainty about what employers could object to when it came to their staff's personal blogging activities.

She highlighted a widely publicised case from 2005, when an employee of Waterstone's was sacked for bringing the bookseller into disrepute after posting critical remarks about the company on his blog. It later emerged that the blogger had successfully appealed his dismissal and was offered his job back.

The lawyer said the incident highlighted how employers needed to have a clear policy on blogging.

"This can be incorporated into an existing internet policy within a contract of employment or employee handbook and should provide a clear definition of blogging and what content will be deemed as unacceptable to the employer," she said.

'Implied duty'

She went on to say: "The question of whether employees are authorised to access personal blogs during work hours should also be addressed, because employers may be liable for the act of their employee if it is carried out in the course of their employment.

"Most importantly, it should also set out the consequences which employees will face, should they fall foul of the policy."

Sikin Andela added that bloggers themselves needed to "exercise caution" when posting comments online, particularly those that related to their employer and the nature of their employment.

"It is important to bear in mind that an employee has an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence towards their employers," she explained.

"Any confidential information which is revealed on a blog, or comments which could be deemed to be defamatory, impact negatively on the employer and could mean that an employee is acting in breach of this duty."