Pornography at work: grounds for dismissal?
 Official records released by the Palace of Westminster's IT chiefs suggest nearly 300,000 "attempts to access websites categorised as pornography" were made from computers within parliament in the past year. The story raises a question about what happens if you are caught viewing a site your employer deems inappropriate. If MPs, peers and their staff really were trying to access that type of content, should there be repercussions? There have been examples of disciplinary action being taken for inappropriate use of the internet at work. In 2012, the deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council stepped down after admitting watching hardcore pornography on a work laptop; and it was reported this year that Welsh government data showed 55 staff members had been caught downloading legal pornography on their work computer in the past six years, with 15 disciplined for downloading images showing sex or full nudity. It is common for employees to use the internet at work for personal use, and most employers are content to let them do so during their lunch break or outside working hours. It clearly goes beyond this for some employees: a recent study has found that up to 14% of the UK's workforce spends half its work hours browsing the internet for non-work-related purposes. Where personal use is likely to cross the line, however, is where there is a serious misuse of computer, email and internet systems, including accessing pornographic, offensive or obscene websites or distributing emails of this nature. Most employers would identify such action as a matter of "gross misconduct". What amounts to gross misconduct is behaviour on the part of an employee which is so bad that it destroys the employer/employee relationship, and warrants instant dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Misconduct can be a "fair reason" for dismissal under employment law. Advertisement Employers are always going to be in a stronger position to discipline staff if they have a disciplinary policy which spells out what amounts to gross misconduct in order that they can say you had full notice of what amounted to a wrongdoing. Most policies will almost certainly cover misuse of the internet and will also state that the list of what can amount to gross misconduct is not exhaustive – thus giving an employer more flexibility when it comes to disciplinary action. An employer does, however, need to be consistent in their approach to disciplinary action; it cannot, for example, rely on a gross misconduct charge for one person who accesses inappropriate material on the web, but overlook others who have engaged in the same or similar conduct. Not all cases of internet misuse will amount to gross misconduct, and thus dismissal. An employer will still have to show that a dismissal is within a band of reasonable responses to the misconduct, and if the matter reached an employment tribunal, the tribunal must assess whether dismissal was indeed a reasonable sanction having regard to the mitigating circumstances of the case. In other words, just because it can amount to gross misconduct doesn't mean that dismissal is always an appropriate sanction. Sometimes, of course, there may be valid reasons why you have tried to access a site that is off-limits. But the safest approach is to make your employer aware first and, if you are not looking for work purposes, wait until you get home. Are you aware of your employer's internet policy? Do you believe sanctions should be appropriate for accessing the internet in this way? And have genuinely "appropriate" sites ever fallen foul of your workplace filter? |
