A potential holiday nightmare with a dream ending

We often have to deal with calls from employees desperately seeking help after comments made online - and Courtney was just one of them.

But the problem for the leisure club attendant wasn’t of her own making, and it was not caused by any comment she wrote in the work WhatsApp group.

Courtney was abroad on annual leave when she spotted a well‑known celebrity, took a picture and posted it in the group saying, “you’ll never guess who I’ve just seen.”

The person in question is a divisive figure, and the image triggered an onslaught of insults and abuse from colleagues. Courtney didn’t react or comment.

When she returned from leave a week later, she was called into her manager’s office and suspended from work for breaching the employer’s social media policy.

Shocked Courtney was adamant she did not do anything wrong. She said she posted the picture because she was excited to see the celebrity, who she actually likes, and just wanted to share it to show off because she couldn’t believe they were staying in the same hotel.

Courtney explained she had not seen the comments because she had turned off notifications while away, only shared the image out of excitement, and many messages were posted in the group after the image and she did not read them all.

During the disciplinary investigation, the most offensive comments were shown and read to Courtney, and she acknowledged they were offensive, abusive and inappropriate.

The investigating manager insisted Courtney was to blame for what was said, and that the fact she didn’t write any of the comments was irrelevant.

It was also said that her failure to report the comments, even though she made it clear she had not read them, was another breach of company policy.

Subsequently, Courtney, who had worked for her employer for three years, was invited to attend a formal disciplinary hearing.

She was stunned by the action being taken and by being warned that, if proven, the allegations of breaching the company’s social media policy and bringing the employer into disrepute could amount to gross misconduct and lead to dismissal.

She was advised by a former colleague to contact our Employee Support Centre. Her former workmate was supported by one of our trade union representatives after raising a grievance at her new workplace.

Our trade union representative discussed the case with Courtney and reviewed the evidence provided, which consisted of screenshots of the messages along with the social media and disciplinary policies. There were no witness statements from any members of the WhatsApp group.

At the disciplinary hearing our trade union representative was strong in his assertion the allegations should be dismissed. This was because Courtney did not breach the social media policy by posting anything offensive, abusive or inappropriate. He said she simply shared a harmless photo while on annual leave, out of excitement, and with no intention to cause upset or provoke colleagues.

Our trade union representative said she could not reasonably be blamed for the comments that followed and as she genuinely did not see them, and she should not be held responsible for failing to report what she did not see.

The hearing was told Courtney turned off group notifications while abroad so she could switch off from work. More than 150 messages were posted after she shared the photo, and she didn’t scroll back through the chat. That is why our trade union representative argued that disciplining her for comments she never saw or read is grossly unfair.

He also challenged the investigation itself. Pointing out no witness statements were taken from anyone in the WhatsApp group, leaving the employer to rely solely on screenshots with no context.

It was further argued that there was no evidence Courtney acted in any way that brought the employer into disrepute. The policy required employees to avoid posting inappropriate content, which she did not do, and it was said she cannot be held responsible for comments written by colleagues.

Courtney was cleared of the allegations after the hearing.