It has come to the attention of the company that an employee has put on Facebook derogatory comments about their manager. The Facebook page is set to private, however, a colleague who is a friend on Facebook viewed the comment and informed management and would like to be kept anonymous. How can HR approach this situation?

Posting derogatory comments on a private Facebook page about work colleagues may be a disciplinary matter in certain circumstances. However, employers seeking to address such behaviour must have regard to a number of statutory and common law protections which apply to employees in this context, including the employee’s reasonable expectation of privacy, the employer’s obligations under the Data Protections Acts 1988 and 2003 and the employee's right to fair procedures in disciplinary matters.

Each instance of alleged misconduct online should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the employer, having regard to the policies or rules in place, the nature of the misconduct, and the public