Pub Owners and Workers Beware; Protecting Your Business from Anti-Social Media

Employers may be aware of a recent case in which an Employment Tribunal found that JD Wetherspoons plc had fairly dismissed a pub manager for gross misconduct when she made damaging comments about customers on Facebook. Ms Preece was subjected to abusive behaviour by the customers, whom she asked to leave.

She was then subjected to 3 abusive phonecalls, apparently from the customers' daughter, using very insulting language. Having dealt with these situations professionally, Ms Preece began to complain and swear about the customers by name on Facebook while she was working, although she did not mention the name of her employers or the pub.

In an age where many younger (and indeed not so young) employees stay in constant contact with friends through social media, what can or should employers be doing to avoid damage to reputation and disciplinary issues concerning ill-chosen online quips?

Lexology

Facebook Social Networking Is Replacing the Pub

The rise of Facebook and other social networking websites has been partly blamed for the rapid closure of pubs – because people are catching up online instead of over a pint reports the Cambridge News.

And even Prince Charles made a plea to save Britain’s pubs when he visited Cambridge and National Trust beauty spot Anglesey Abbey this week.The prince stressed the need to protect local pubs in an age of “stultifying mono-culturalism” at the tourism summit.

The royal appeal came just before a new report by the British Beer and Pub
Association (BBPA) revealed that 137 pubs closed in the Anglia ITV region last year.The smoking ban and the rise in VAT and business rates have all been blamed for the slow demise of the local.

Royston Pederston, manager of The Zebra in Cambridge, which has recently reopened after a refit, has also pointed the finger at Facebook.He said: “My own theory is that pubs are closing because of the massive changes in society. People would traditionally go to a pub to meet friends but now they can sit at home and catch up on the gossip using Facebook.

Around 1,300 pubs closed across Britain last year, with the loss of 13,000 jobs.But the number of pub closures has fallen from 40 a week last year to 25 a week now, with the rate of losses highest in London and the North West.

A BBPA spokesman said: “East Anglia has many great pubs, and while towns like Cambridge have a vibrant pub culture, it has suffered from pub closures.
“And we mustn’t forget the huge role brewing plays in the rural economy in the region, which is very closely linked to pubs.”