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:

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

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

 equality & diversity and bullying & harassment 

and undertake awareness training with their teams and flag that differences of opinion are inevitable and not necessarily harassment. Offense or disagreement over a view should not be the subject of a complaint unless it is targeted.  

Awareness training should make a clear statement to all workers that each employee must treat every colleague with respect, irrespective of their position in the organisation.

Ensure that your social media policy sets out a requirement for employee posts to state that their post is “a personal opinion” and should not be attributable to the employer. Also encourage employees to consider before they post whether their words may impact the organisation or its reputation.

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

Managing philosophical beliefs investigations

The HSE has recently published their work-related fatal injuries statistics for 2024.

Figures show that 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents. 

We have a wide range of health and safety awareness and management courses, take a look 

Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain 2023/24

Health and Safety Executive statistics for 2024

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SSG partners with Staff Squared - HR software for small businesses

There is no fixed period of time that an employer needs to let pass before they can recruit into a position that was previously made redundant. 

Employers do need to consider if recruiting to a role that was made redundant would undermine the fairness of the original decision to dismiss, and if the ex-employee would regard the reason for their dismissal to be fair or genuine if the company recruits too soon.  

We would recommend a minimum timeline of three months before recruiting into the role. This corresponds with the three-month limitation period for an ex-employee to raise a tribunal claim.

However each situation does need to be considered on the facts of the case. Take for example a situation where an employer has had a decline in orders and work volumes and decides to reduce headcount and make a role redundant. If a month after the redundancy a new order is won and work volumes ramp back up then it almost certainly going to be reasonable for that employer to recruit into a post that was recently made redundant.  