Guidance Note - Social Media Policy
This guidance note provides various examples of behaviours/actions by staff of the Fair
Work Commission which may be considered in breach of the Commission’s
Social Media
Policy.
This guidance note does not purport to cover every possible situation of when Commission
employees are potentially in breach of the policy due to their conduct in the use of social
media.
The social media policy states that personal and professional use of social media by
Commission staff must not:
Personal and
Examples
professional use of
social media by
Commission staff
must not:
Bring the
A Commission employee posts information on a social media site
Commission into
which is inaccurate, vexatious and/or damages the Commission’s
disrepute
reputation as the national workplace relations tribunal.
Compromise their
Don't forget your day job. You should make sure that your online
or others
activities do not interfere with performing your job responsibilities or
effectiveness at
the activities of the Commission and its employees.
work
Use your best judgment. Remember to always use good
judgment and common sense in deciding what you publish. If you're
about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit
uncomfortable, review the suggestions above and think about why
that is. If you're still unsure, and it is related to Commission
business, feel free to discuss it with your manager. Ultimately,
however, you have sole responsibility for what you post to your blog
or publish in any form of online social media.
Remember - Commission employees are personally responsible for
the content they publish on-line, whether in a blog, social computing
site or any other form of user-generated media. Be mindful that what
you publish will be public for a long time - protect your privacy and
take care to not to compromise your effectiveness or the
effectiveness of your colleagues at work through your posts –
comments made in the heat of the moment will be out there for all to
see for a long time and have the potential to harm your reputation
as a trustworthy, respectful and ethical public servant.
Suggest or imply
Identification as a Commission employee implies authorisation to
endorsement by
speak as a representative of the Commission and gives the
the Commission of impression that the views expressed are those of the Commission.
their personal
A Commission employee comments or posts material in relation to
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views:
their views regarding a decision brought down by a Member of the
Commission. The comments are worded in ways that have the
potential to cause damage to the Commission’s reputation or bring it
into disrepute.
Post material that
A Commission employee makes belittling or humiliating comments
is offensive,
regarding an unnamed work colleague on their Facebook account.
defamatory,
threatening,
A Commission employee circulates a sexually explicit joke to other
harassing,
team members using Lync software.
bullying,
discriminatory or
otherwise unlawful
Use the Fair Work
A Commission employee writes a letter ‘to the Editor’ of a
Commission’s
metropolitan newspaper in which they express their views regarding
email address or
a local council decision using paper which has the Fair Work
logo without
Commission’s logo on it.
permission
Disclose
A Commission employee uses or discloses confidential information
confidential
to their Facebook friends which they obtained via a search of
information
matters in CMS+ in relation to the financial outcome of an unfair
dismissal application.
Publicise
A Commission employee uses social media to discuss their views in
workplace
relation to sanctions imposed on a colleague following an
disputes
investigation into an alleged breach of the APS Code of Conduct.
Contravene the
As APS and Fair Work Commission employees we assume that role
APS Code of
24/7 and therefore posting material that is offensive, obscene,
Conduct, APS or
defamatory, threatening, harassing, bullying, discriminatory, hateful,
Fair Work
racist, sexist, infringes copyright, constitutes a contempt of court,
Commission
breaches a Court suppression order, or is otherwise unlawful could
Values
be found to be in contravention of the APS Code of Conduct, the
APS or Fair Work Commission values. Generally, a higher standard
of conduct is expected of public servants.
A Commission employee posts threatening comments on Facebook
directed toward another employee of the Commission. The
employee against whom the threatening comments have been
made provides a copy of the comments to their Manager claiming
their work colleague has breached the APS Code of Conduct,
amongst other things.
A Commission employee sends disparaging remarks regarding their
Manager to other team members via Lync software.
A Commission employee uses or discloses confidential information
to their Facebook friends which they obtained via a search of
matters in CMS+ regarding an unfair dismissal application
Staff must ensure
Disclaimers should be attached to every comment or view
that all personal
expressed on social media in which an employee acknowledges
comments or
their employment with or makes comments in regard to the Fair
views expressed
Work Commission.
on social media
sites are easily
- If an employee of the Commission publishes content on a social
identifiable as their media site, in their personal capacity, which is relevant to the
own and not those
business of the Commission a disclaimer such as this should be
added to every post: "The postings on this site are my own and don't
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February 2014
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of the Commission necessarily represent the Fair Work Commission's position,
strategies or opinions."
Staff is
Facebook accounts, including access and passwords etc are the
responsible for the responsibility of the owner of the account. However, the onus of
content they post,
proving the comments were made by the employee and not
or allow others to
someone else would be tested in any investigation of a possible
post, on their
breach of the Social Media Policy.
personal social
media
Further information:
The Australian Public Service Commissioner (APSC) has provided further guidance
in regard to APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice and sets out general
principles when making public comment in an unofficial capacity.
http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/aps-values-and-code-
of-conduct-in-practice/managing-official-information
The Code of Conduct requires APS employees to behave at all times ‘in a way that upholds
the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS’—section 13(11) of the
Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act). When APS employees are making public comment in
an unofficial capacity, it is not appropriate for them to make comment that is, or could be
perceived to be:
being made on behalf of their agency or the Government, rather than an expression of
a personal view
compromising the APS employee’s capacity to fulfil their duties in an unbiased manner.
This applies particularly where comment is made about policies and programmes of the
employee’s agency
so harsh or extreme in its criticism of the Government, a member of parliament from
another political party, or their respective policies, that it raises questions about the
APS employee’s capacity to work professionally, efficiently or impartially. Such
comment does not have to relate to the employee’s area of work
so strong in its criticism of an agency’s administration that it could seriously disrupt the
workplace. APS employees are encouraged instead to resolve concerns by informal
discussion with a manager or by using internal dispute resolution mechanisms,
including the APS whistleblowing scheme if appropriate
a gratuitous personal attack that might reasonably be perceived to be connected with
their employment
unreasonable criticism of an agency’s clients and other stakeholders
compromising public confidence in the agency or the APS.
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February 2014
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