A businesswomen’s group has relaunched its networking lunches by turning the spotlight on social media in the workplace.

Professionally Pink organised the first event in its new format at The Wealden Hall, Larkfield, near Maidstone. It was co-hosted by national audit, tax and advisory firm Crowe Clark Whitehill (CCW) and law firm Brachers.

Louise Brenlund, associate solicitor at Brachers, said the use of social media was common in almost every job and employers must adapt. “It is not enough simply to have a social media policy, employers need to clearly communicate the effect of the policy to staff and consistently apply it as issues arise.”

Giving four examples of claims for unfair dismissal from employees who had been sacked for misconduct relating to their online activities, she asked the groups to decide whether or not they thought the claims were upheld. The debate raised issues about employee conduct when using sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Ms Brenlund added: “In many cases the decision will come down to a few factors: how serious was the misconduct; was the employee aware that he or she was in breach of the company’s social media policy; were there any mitigating circumstances; and what kind of disciplinary record did they have?

“A lot of people are surprised to find that even if Facebook settings are restricted to friends and family, depending on the circumstances, a tribunal may consider that the information has been provided to a wider public domain as information can be shared so easily. Even if employees do not specifically name the employer when using social media during working hours, they may still get into an awful lot of trouble. The lesson is to not only make sure your company contracts are sound, but also to make sure that social media policies are brought to employees’ attention and training is given.”

Sarah Cundle, director of audit and business solutions at CCW’s Tunbridge Wells office, said: “We have changed the format of our lunches to make them even more useful to attendees. Each quarter we will have a discussion topic which will be introduced by an expert and then debated in smaller groups, allowing people to really get to know each other and their businesses.”

Professionally Pink’s next event is on September 18. More information on 01892 700200 or email emily.rushton@crowecw.co.uk.