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Inappropriate websites out of hours

Governance | 28 Feb 2011

William Garnett, head of employment at Bates, Wells and Braithwaite answers a chair's concerns about their chief executive's use of the charity's computer to view inappropriate material.

Dear editor,

I am chair of trustees of a children’s charity. We have an outstandingly effective chief executive (CE) who is a workaholic. He even has a bed in a tiny room at our offices for use when he hasn’t got time to travel home. Our head of IT has just informed me that our CE regularly accesses adult (not child) pornography websites in the late evenings when there is no-one but himself in our offices. What action should I and my fellow trustees take?

Yours sincerely

A troubled chair

Dear troubled chair

While your CE’s actions are not illegal, they can still have consequences for the charity’s reputation. In addition, your CE’s workaholic behaviour may be indicative of problems in his personal life. If there are problems, you should ask about these on a confidential basis and offer support to ensure that they do not cause interference with the excellent work the CE does for the charity in the future.

As there are no other problems with the CE’s performance, the best way to deal with the matter at this stage is informally. You should invite the CE to a meeting with yourself and a trustee.

During this meeting you should explain to the CE that, although the activity is outside of working hours, it is an inappropriate use of the charity’s internet and risks bringing the charity into disrepute. You should insist that the CE does not engage in this behaviour again and say that, if this happens in future, disciplinary action will need to be taken.

In addition, you should ask whether your CE’s need to spend so much time at work is the result of any problems and offer support if necessary.

There is an issue regarding monitoring of internet use of employees. You do not mention why your head of IT was aware that the CE regularly accesses these websites. Employers are entitled to monitor their employees’ internet use in order to investigate or detect the unauthorised use of its telecommunication systems.

However, if monitoring of employees’ emails and internet use is to be justified on the basis that it is necessary to enforce the organisation’s rules and standards, these rules and standards must be known and understood by workers. It is therefore very important that employers have a policy on internet use and that workers are aware of it.

The policy should:

• set out clearly to workers the circumstances in which they may or may not use the employer’s internet for private use;
• specify clearly any restrictions on material that can be viewed or copied. For the avoidance of doubt, employers may wish to consider giving examples of the sort of material that is considered offensive, for example material containing racist terminology or nudity;
• inform employees who could be subject to monitoring when it is being carried out and why; and
• outline how the policy is enforced and penalties which exist for a breach of policy. Inappropriate websites out of hours

William Garnett is head of employment and Bates Wells & Braithwaite and trustee at tge Tall Ships Youth Trust 

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