Below is an email I suggest can be sent to staff reminding them of their obligations in relation to data protection:
"We would like to remind everyone that under current legislation, we must be extremely careful about the way we use any information we gain working for the company. In particular, any information you may have about your colleagues, customers, suppliers or other contacts must not be passed on to any other person without the consent of your manager.
This means that you must not discuss any information with anyone else, including staff in other businesses, your friends and family and more generally. You must not discuss any incidents at work, your feelings or opinions about your colleagues or anything that they may have been doing/not doing that is work-related on any social media platform. All work-related electronic communications should come through email and not via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. Please respect this"
This is an attempt to curtail gossip and/or inappropriate conversations. I have stopped short of saying that this will be a disciplinary matter but, with this email on ‘record’ you would be able to take disciplinary action should anyone breach this. You might want to take a ‘lighter’ approach initially whilst at the same time giving people a clear message that this is not acceptable.
I provide a 2-hour training session for all staff on the dangers of gossip and social media, to cover how apparently ‘innocent’ disclosures can have major implications; how negative communications can input on the brand and customer experience; bullying and harassment via social media; and the risks to the business posed by inappropriate use of social media and ‘careless tongues’. I am happy to deliver this training for you or provide you with the training material if you would prefer to deliver it yourself. You can contact me at knicol@workplacelegalsolutions.co.uk
Many thanks, Kim
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