Managing philosophical beliefs investigations

Frequently in the media there are stories of employees who have been disciplined for expressing an opinion on social media outside of working hours.

But what action can an employer reasonably take when an employee expresses a personal belief in their own time. This is a grey area for the employee and employer. It is difficult to know when an employee’s view which is expressed on social media (and often to a limited number of followers / friends) can reasonably be seen as impacting upon the employer or colleagues. Often it is the colleague who, upon seeing the post, will make a complaint to their manager.

There is some case law to guide us in this area including Forstater vs CDG Europe (2021) which found employers must respect their employees’ rights to freedom of expression in their own time.

However, there are some extreme positions which do fall outside this right such a right including racial hatred (e.g. Nazism) or incitement of violence and hatred. Employers should avoid taking disciplinary action against an employee who express opinions that do not fall into these more extreme categories even they (or their employees) disagree with it.

Employers can take action when the opinion:

“seems” attributable to the employer

would impact on the employer's ability to deliver services or run its business

expressly harasses another employee

A distinction to note is that just because a colleague is offended by a view, it does not mean they are being harassed.

Building awareness

Source:

People Management