Hays Specialist Recruitment (Holdings) Ltd. v. Ions, (2008)

Mark Ions was employed by Hays and left to start a recruitment firm in competition. Hays were concerned that he had taken business contact information in violation of his employment contract prohibiting him from making use of confidential information and from doing business with clients he had at Hays. Hays was concerned primarily with his LinkedIn account.

It’s a fascinating debate, but to cut a long story short, if you get into a similar pickle, use this barrister, you won’t lose….

http://www.blackstonechambers.com/people/barristers/victoria_windle.html

From the company standpoint, if you have a successful blogger with a loyal following in the thousands…do whatever it takes to keep him/her happy. Somebody get Lisa a cupcake with sprinkles. NOW!

Dr Pete: That’s actually a really good point. I think there’s a slight difference in that most people will understand that the business contacts you have at one job really don’t transfer to another. However, that social media account i created while on the job, that’s mine. I built that up. It uses my name and even has my photo So I’m just gonna go ahead and take that, okay? What do you mean, NO? :) Because these accounts often feel “personal”, we assume their ours. But, they’re really, really not.

Dorian: I promise to never delete a comment critical of me. And yes, I may even link to it in another post. ;)

I agree with you on the social media accounts, I don’t agree that helping your employees to build up their own brand is always detrimental to the company. Obviously, it comes with risks, but there are also benefits to consider. But…that’s a different conversation for a different post. :)

However, if the employee created the account in his/her own time as a proposal/strategy to his/her employer, and later leaves the company, he/she should remain in control of the account/followers.

It’s common sense really, but we all know the law works in hideous ways. :P

I think most companies would be better off with shared social media accounts that multiple employees use. You could have strict style guidelines to make it seem like its one person behind the account (everything from how to make a smileyface :) to whether to use woot or huzzah).

I see no value in building my employee’s personal brand on my dime. And that’s not just with social media profiles/connections… it includes sending them to conferences where they make personal contacts and then submit an expense report for travel, dinner, drinks, etc.

Great ROI on that… NOT.

Great post.
The once divide between employee time and personal time has infused together.
Especially in this economy, building “people equity” is key.

As social media continues to revolve and innovate, this posting will truly help human resource and compliance prepare for future matters.

keep writing

Rayfil Wong
President Campusfork Inc.

It seems like we always get into these debates over what’s new/hot, but in a way, this is really like anything you create while employed. Most of the time, that creation is the company’s property, but that doesn’t mean you can’t derive benefit from it, use it in a portfolio, etc. (unless you contractually agree not to). Every time we leave a job, we take experience, training, relationships etc. with us to our next job – it’s a natural part of the process.