Web abuse tops misconduct figures

Posted on 3 Sep 2002 at 12:06

Internet and email 'abuse' is the main cause of disciplinary action against employees, according to a new survey.

The survey, by KLegal and Personnel Today found that in the last 12 months the number of disciplinary actions, including dismissals, for Internet and email abuse was greater than the combined total for dishonesty, violence and health and safety violations combined.

The most common examples of abuse were excessive Internet and email usage, sending pornographic emails, accessing Web sites containing pornographic material and sending emails that may damage the company's reputation. Dismissals followed in a minority of cases, though 39 per cent of employees disciplined for sending pornographic emails were subsequently dismissed. Only dishonesty (100 per cent) and violence (74 per cent) had a higher dismissal rate.

The survey of 212 companies found that 49 per cent allow access to the Internet and 63 per cent to email. However, many restrict the way in which this can be used. Twenty-nine per cent do not allow personal email during working hours and 10 per cent do not allow it at all. Similarly, 35 per cent do not permit Internet usage during working hours and 13 per cent do not permit it at all.

Most companies are now monitoring email and Internet usage, though the frequency of checks varies considerably. Some companies, however, are still failing to comply with the law and notify employees that they are being checked, but this has dropped from around 20 per cent to less than 10 per cent. Only 12 per cent do not monitor.

Moreover, some companies are not helping themselves and their employees as much as they could. Just 53 per cent of companies have software to prevent access to Web sites and 71 per cent have firewalls to stop unacceptable emails.

Author: Simon Aughton