The Charted Institute of Personnel and Development have covered our new research into social media misuse at the Department of Work and Pensions:
Government department sacks staff over social media abuse
More than 100 workers disciplined for using Twitter and Facebook
Eleven civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been sacked for misusing Twitter or Facebook.
Figures revealed in a report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, showed that the 11 officials in Iain Duncan Smith’s department are among 116 DWP employees to have faced disciplinary action for blogging and social networking since January 2009.
Of these 116, 34 were given a final written warning, 35 received a written warning and 36 were reprimanded verbally for their use of social media, the Guardian reported.
As part of the government’s IT and communications strategy, the Cabinet Office published its ‘social media guidelines for civil servants’ in May last year – a 20 page document which outlines that social media is an ‘important tool’ for communicating with citizens, and which claims that the government wants to be ‘a part of the conversation’. Yet many civil servants are denied access to social media websites.
DWP employees generally have access to Twitter on their computers, but Facebook and other social media sites are restricted. Only those who have a “genuine requirement for access” are allowed to engage on these sites.
Steven George-Hilley, director of communications and technology at conservative think tank Parliament Street, said: “In a social media age, it beggars belief that employees are being banned from using sites like Twitter and Facebook in the workplace.
“Instead of implementing draconian rules and penalties, public sector departments should encourage responsible use of social media, that empower staff without putting the organisation’s credibility at risk.”
The DWP is one of the largest employers in the UK with more than 122,000 staff spread across various departments, including Jobcentre Plus, the Pension Service and the Child Support Agency.
The DWP’s official Twitter account, run by the DWP press office, has a link on its profile to the department’s lengthy Twitter policy, which includes a section on the use of hashtags – “it does not imply endorsement of any kind” it reads.
Reacting to the report on the sackings, a DWP spokesperson said: “The DWP has clear guidelines for staff on the use of the internet and social media. The vast majority of staff abide by these rules.
“For the small minority who don’t, we have strict disciplinary measures in place, ranging from a warning to dismissal.”
The original article can be found here.
