27,500 (Internet) hits, not out
An employee who was sacked for visiting 27,500 websites for “personal reasons” has won his tribunal case for unfair dismissal. So where did his employer go wrong and how can you avoid paying out £38,000?
A super-surfing employee
David Innes (I) was employed as an accountant by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). Its Operations and Performance Manager, David Pratt (P), became suspicious about the amount of time he seemed to be spending on the Internet and requested an “Internet usage report”.
Watching you. It seemed to suggest that Innes had clocked-up over 27,500 website visits. As P thought this was both a breach of SSE’s Internet policy and a “ridiculous amount of time for any employee to spend online”, he was dismissed.
Dismissal was (un)fair
Innes then claimed unfair dismissal. At the tribunal, SSE argued that he had been sacked due to: (1) excessive Internet use for personal reasons; and (2) failure to properly carry out his duties. But as it had not defined the term “excessive use” in its Internet policy, the tribunal found in Innes’ favour; he was awarded just over £38,000.
Failed to take advice
Unfortunately, the reports on this case don’t go into detail, but it appears that the tribunal focussed mainly on how P reached his decision to dismiss. It highlighted the fact that although an Internet usage report was obtained, P failed to take advice from SSE’s IT department on how to interpret it. This suggests that the tribunal thought one of two things:
1. Not all of the 27,5000 websites were, in fact, visited by Innes.
2. Some of these visits were actually work-related, e.g. to tax websites.
Tribunal-proof policies
Not surprisingly, SSE is considering an appeal and we’ll keep you posted on this. In the meantime, this case demonstrates the importance of having a clear e-mail and Internet use policy (see The next step). In particular, it should clarify what amounts to “excessive use”.
Tip 1. Don’t try to define “excessive use” as a quantity, e.g. more than 20 website visits per day. Instead, set out when employees can use the Internet (and e-mail) for personal reasons, e.g. during designated breaks. Frequent use outside these times could warrant disciplinary action, particularly if the quality of their work declines.
Tip 2. Alwaysretain the right to monitor an employee’s e-mails and Internet use and draw attention to this in your policy. That way excessive use during work time can be easily identified.
Look before you leap
You also need to be careful in how you investigate any suspected Internet misuse. As this case shows, you can’t dismiss on an Internet usage report alone. You must carry out a detailed examination into what actually occurred and confirm if any other factors could have contributed to it.
Tip. Ensure that any evidence you obtain solely relates to the individual concerned. For example, have other employees or temps had access to their computer at any time, e.g. during annual leave? If so, allow for this in the investigation.
For a free sample e-mail and Internet use policy, visit http://personnel.indicator.co.uk(PS12.16.03).
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