Sending a quick message via the messenger app, posting an Instagram story or congratulating a colleague on their new position on LinkedIn or Xing – completely normal in everyday life, but better handled with care in the workplace.
The use of social media in the workplace is often a legally gray area. “Basically nothing is regulated, you have to say that openly,” says Jan Tibor Lelley, a specialist lawyer for labor law, in the podcast of the specialist magazine “Arbeit und Arbeitrecht”.
Observe internal guidelines on social media
Therefore, it is at the discretion of the employer whether and to what extent social media may be used during working hours. Many companies have internal policies regarding private use of social media. They can range from limited use to a complete ban, according to Lelley.
However, employees should be particularly careful when it comes to excessive use of social media at work. Employers can view this as working time fraud because this time is not used in the interests of the company and the working hours are therefore not fulfilled in accordance with the contract. Simply put: the actual work remains undone. According to Lelley, this can have consequences under labor law – ranging from warnings to warnings to dismissals or, in some cases, even extraordinary dismissals.
