A pub manager who made derogatory comments about two of her
customers on facebook after they had verbally abused and threatened
her, was dismissed by her employer for gross misconduct. She
brought a claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal who
found in favour of her employer that she had been fairly dismissed
and in breach of her employer's email and internet policy.
The facebook conversation took place during working hours and were
of a jokey nature rather than a reflection of her feelings towards
the customers.
The pub manager thought that her privacy settings on facebook
gave her privacy from the outside world, in fact, the comments were
available to a wider audience and were seen by relatives of the
customers in question.