Use of Electronic Communications
Policy
Corporate Human Resources
Amended February 2010
Introduction
All council electronic communications equipment is there to help provide a high
quality service to our customers. While the use of this equipment for council
business must come first, the council allows employees and councillors to use this
equipment for appropriate and moderate personal use. We trust employees and
councillors to behave sensibly and to use equipment for personal use outside
recorded working council time (for example, at lunchtime).
Electronic communications equipment includes telephone, computer, email,
internet, mobile phone (all types), fax, voicemail, photocopier and palm-held
equipment.
Failure to follow any aspect of this policy (either deliberately or
accidentally) could lead to disciplinary action against you in
accordance with the council’s disciplinary policy which may result in
dismissal.
1. The use of the internet
The internet is a valuable work resource, offering access to research data and
other information sources. Users are expected to restrict internet access to work
related sites within work hours. Reasonable personal use is permitted outside of
recorded working council time (for example, at lunchtime). Any abuse of this
privilege may result in disciplinary action.
Employees are not allowed to ‘blog’ using council’s electronic equipment – that is,
publish an online diary.
Following the removal of filtering blocks, employees will now have access to many
other resources, this means that social networking sites and webmail – such as
Hotmail and Yahoo, facebook and Twitter will become available. Kirklees
recognises that employees have a right to a private life; however, we must ensure
that confidentiality and our reputation are protected. We therefore require
employees who use social networking websites to:
• Refrain from identifying themselves as working for Kirklees
• Ensure that you do not conduct yourself in a way that is detrimental to
Kirklees
• Take care not to allow their interaction to damage working relationships
between Kirklees, its partners and our residents
Employees should not assume that their entries on any website will remain private.
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2. The use of email and office communicator
E-mail is provided as a work communication tool and any abuse of this privilege
may result in disciplinary action. It must not be used to store or circulate personal
email and any material that may be deemed by the council as offensive or
discriminatory, or any material (including jokes, videos, pictures) that is actually or
potentially defamatory of any person or organisation. For details of classification
see appendix I.
Emails should be written in a professional tone and text, as they are a means of
formal communication. Bear in mind that emails may be submitted as evidence in
legal proceedings. The use of obscene language or swear words is prohibited.
Please be aware that email discussions with third parties can constitute a legally
binding contract.
Use of the email system to copy and/or transmit any documents, software or other
information protected by copyright law is prohibited without the appropriate
copyright permission.
No email attachment should be opened unless you have absolute confidence in its
origin as this is one of the most likely points of access of a virus into the council’s
computer systems. This includes material from a home email address. If you are
in doubt, the email should be forwarded unopened to the Sin Bin.
Under no circumstances must an individual access the email of another individual
within the council without express permission and a clear understanding of the
reason for the proxy access.
Office communicator is our instant messaging, online chat, one click phone calls,
video call system and also allows colleagues to know whether you are available,
away from your desk or in a meeting and should be used in the same way you
would use email.
The 'Sin Bin'
It is impossible to control what information is sent to a member of staff by email.
However if offensive, obscene and/or discriminatory material is received it is then
the responsibility of the receiver to do three things:
1. Forward the email to the 'Sin Bin'
• highlight the email in your inbox and right click the mouse
• from the drop down menu, click on the option ‘forward’
• type Sin Bin in the forwarding box on the email and click send
• the email will then be considered by InTech
2. Delete the email from your computer
3. Inform your manager
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Saving or not deleting emails and attachments that fall within this category is not
only deemed offensive and is grounds for disciplinary action by the council but it
also slows down computer communication by using up memory of computers and
file servers.
3. The use of the Staff Message Boards
The staff message boards are a facility on the council’s intranet that allows
employees to view and post messages relating to work and topics of general
interest.
These boards must only be used during your own time (for example, at lunchtime),
not during working hours.
• The staff notice board is intended for posting messages of general interest –
not for chit-chat, gossip or jokes. Users can also enter into business-related
discussions of a non-confidential nature.
• The ‘unclassifieds’ board is for staff to advertise private items for buying or
selling. Please delete your message as soon as you have sold your item.
No trade or commercial selling is permitted.
Bear in mind that your message has the potential to be read by many others and
as such should be written in a manner that does not offend. It is all too easy for
written comments to be interpreted in a manner that was not implied. Any abuse of
this privilege may result in disciplinary action.
4. Misuse of electronic equipment
Misuse is a serious disciplinary offence. The following are examples of misuse and
you MUST NOT:
• Store, view, download or distribute material that is obscene, offensive or
pornographic, contains
violent images, or incites criminal behaviour or racial
hatred
• Gamble using council equipment
• Undertake political lobbying (councillors are exempt from this provision)
• Promote or run a commercial business
• Download or distribute games, music or pictures from the internet for personal
use. They can bring viruses with them, use up capacity on the servers and
potentially breach copyright
.
• Spend council time on personal matters (for example, arranging a holiday,
shopping, looking at personal interest websites). This may be treated as fraud.
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• Store personal information on your system or network that uses up capacity
and slows down the system (for example, personal photos, screensavers or
wallpaper)
• Send emails around the ‘office’ or team which:
o are critical about a member of the team
o contain specific or implied comments you would not say out loud in the
team
o contain inappropriate comments which could cause offence or
harassment on the grounds of gender, race, disability, age, religion or
sexual orientation
o have originated from a chain letter
• Conduct private and intimate relationships via email
• Download or copy software
• Take and/or transmit pictures of a member of staff on your mobile phone,
camcorder or camera without the person’s permission
• Give away all-user email lists or lists of large number of email users for non-
council business. If in doubt, ask your manager.
• Blog
• Use internet chat rooms
5. Monitoring and Privacy
The council’s email and internet facilities are business systems, owned by the
organisation. The council therefore reserves the right to track all use of the internet
and of the council’s IT systems. Usage will be monitored to ensure that the
systems are being employed primarily for business reasons, that there is no
harassment or defamation taking place and that employees are not entering into
illegal transactions.
Employees need to be aware that internet sites visited are traceable, and that
deleted or trashed messages or attachments can be recovered.
Any material stored on the council’s network or being circulated via the council’s
email system has no rights of individual privacy. In accordance with RIPA
(Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) monitoring or surveillance without
an employee's knowledge can be carried out on internal email systems, or
information stored on a server. It is permitted to intercept communications in this
way so the council can ensure its systems are being used properly in accordance
with council policies and are working correctly.
The monitoring of email, telephone calls and internal and external post, unless
clearly identified as private and confidential and not expected to be opened in an
employee's absence, will be carried out on a regular basis. General monitoring of
this nature will be carried out in the normal course of the running of the council's
business. As such, the monitoring would be regarded as falling outside RIPA as
there is implied proxy access to all the council’s communication systems for
monitoring and interception of communications in order to deal with matters in an
employee's absence for holiday, illness or other reason.
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6. Breaches and Sanctions
Failure to follow any aspect of this policy (either deliberately or accidentally) could
lead to disciplinary action against you in accordance with the council’s disciplinary
policy which may result in dismissal.
Appendix I gives an explanation of the classifications used when investigating
electronic communications misuse and is used as a guide. There may be material
that does not readily fit into these categories.
Appendix II details the factors that are considered before deciding the appropriate
sanction in cases of electronic communications misuse.
For information or any concerns you may have please contact:
• Your
manager
• Your HR team
• InTech
services
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Appendix I
CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS MISUSE
TERM
MEANING
RATING
SANCTION
Gross
• Time
Gross
Dismissal
• Volume
Misconduct
• Capacity
• Offensive
material
of
the following nature:
o Sexually explicit or suggestive,
usually in picture format
o Racist
o Homophobic
o Ridiculing religion, disability, sexual
orientation or politics
o Ridiculing/demeaning
individuals
o Inciting cruelty or illegal activity
Serious
• Time
Serious
Final written
• Volume
Misconduct/
warning/written
• Capacity
Misconduct
warning
• Offensive
material
of
the following nature:
o Sexually
orientated
o Bad and offensive language
o Politically
aggravating
o Ageism
o Showing violence or nudity
Mild and
• Time
Misconduct Written
non-
• Volume
warning/verbal
offensive • Capacity
warning/informal
• Material of the following nature:
process
o Jokes/short stories with minor
references to material of a sexist
nature or in bad taste
o Jokes/stories
etc. of a non-offensive
nature (that is, not gross, serious or
mild)
o Light hearted material
o Cute animal pictures
Definitions
Capacity – material that takes up a lot of capacity on the hard drive of the email
account
Time – personal use could be considered tantamount to fraud
Volume – the numbers being received and/or sent on
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Appendix II
Factors to Consider
Factors to take into consideration before deciding the appropriate sanction in
cases of email and internet abuse
If the allegations are proven, then consideration should be given to whether they are
gross misconduct or other misconduct. Gross misconduct can be defined as
misconduct for which dismissal would be appropriate without previous warnings. If the
misconduct is not gross, then dismissal would not normally be appropriate without
previous warnings.
Before reaching a decision on the appropriate sanction, the following factors should also
be taken into account:
1. Seniority
Has the manager failed to set an example to the team? Has the manager
challenged inappropriate behaviour amongst the team being managed?
2.
Realisation of Misconduct
Has the employee understood the implications of the breach of discipline?
3. Behaviour
Change
Is the employee likely to repeat the misconduct, or is a desired change in
behaviour likely?
4. Coercion
Did the employee feel pressure to join in these activities, either through their
peers or, more worryingly, their manager?
5. Instigator
Is the employee at the heart of the email abuse, encouraging and/or promoting
the distribution of material?
6. Recipients
7. Policies
breached
8. Environment
Have the images been viewed in an area where clients, service users or
members of the public might be able to see it?
9. External
Contact
Has material been exchanged with those outside the organisation which would
increase the risk of reputation of the council being damaged?
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Document Outline
