confucious says
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you are stuffed I am afraid to tell you.
A clear case of gross misconduct they will more than likely sack you they cannot make you redundant because clearly you are not. if the company applies the rule of law there is not much of a defence to the charge in fact you admit it |
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deadkelly_1
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If you have breached the company Internet usage policy then yes they can take disciplinary action ... the very least they can take action against you for conducting personal activities when you should have been working ... and if your business is in any way related to what you do in your job it could be construde that you were forwarding legitimate business to your own site |
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nettie
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Personally I think you have a bloody cheek using the resources of your employer to access these sites for personal gain and it could be argued that even though you ONLY ACCESSED sites to check things out indirectly this was an advantage to your business income and in the extreme could be construed as stealing .
I can see why your employer would have suspended you especially as you are employed by the company.
The same thing happened to a colleague that I once worked with she was doing her master degree online and spend best part of the day accessing Bibliographies and downloading and printing information to help out with her thesis. She was well miffed when the webmaster cotton on to what she was doing and even more so when she was given her marching orders.
Put it this way if you employed someone would you tolerate them accessing sites for their own financial gain. I'm surprised that as many people get away with this seemingly common practise as they do. |
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brattiness73
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I think they got you dead to rights on this one. As silly as it might seem to get fired just for surfing a bit on company time, it is still the companies time you were wasting. Not to mention using a piece of their equipment to waste the time you should have been working but weren't on. Most places have a pretty well known policy on using the companies computers for personal business. If yours is one of them, I am afraid you are pretty screwed. I have known people to get fired for reading a magazine at work (not smut, just Time), they weren't working, and they had made a habit of it. |
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The Hooded Claw© 67dtg
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If your company has an IT policy, and this has been communicated to you, then you are probably in breach (depending on what the policy says, of course). Do other employee's use the internet during work time, and if so how do your employers treat them? Do you get regular work breaks? If so, you may be able to say that you used the internet during these breaks. Depends how much time you have spent on the net during work time but from what you have said it sounds minor. If, however, you have been spending vast amounts of time looking at your online business whilst being paid by your employer then you don't have much of an argument. |
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studio
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They can. See if you were in an "at will" employment contract, and ask to revisit the documents you signed when hired. Also ... be prepared to consult with a wrongful term lawyer that can advise you how to document the case and prove you were just viewing site statistics@!@ Man! if you werent being paid for that how are you expecting them to pay you for researching competitors for your own business- they have a point here! ITs gonna be tough- gather as much documentation as you can whilst still inside the enemy compound- it looks like they are about to take away your keys. |
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BULLDOG
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I am not an expert but; I do know that it is bad business to be checking on your on site. If the employer will let you back to work safe checking on your site until you get off. Do the job that you were hired to do. If your business can't wait then you might think about dropping the job. If the job that you have is paying more than your own that just enforces the fact that you can wait on your own business. You employer expects you to do the job he hired you for. Your business can wait.
Best of Luck.
Stay Safe,
Bulldog |
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sexybabe
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I would go and see a solicitor who specializes in Employment law but to be honest you should not have been doing that during your working hours....lunch time, yes but not during working hours as your employer is paying you to do work for them so I think they have the right to sack you as you are not doing the work they expect of you. It does not matter how long you were on these sites the problem is you went on them when you should be working. |
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Auntie Cabbage
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I expect there's technicality that you weren't doing your job, but if you did it during times when you were on a break, I would class that as your free time, so I don't see why not.
I can see why they might not be too happy about it though! |
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Whistler R
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Your employer should certainly be able to suspend you for misconduct.
You are certainly misusing your employers equipment - apart from the fact you are being paid to do a days work for the company.
Some years ago people could have been prosecuted for stealing .00000001pence of electricity for using the company telephone for private purposes. What makes you feel that you can please yourself what you do at work?
Accept that you are in the wrong and with an apology on your part, the Employer may reconsider the question of your future with the Company - if of course you are that good at your job. You surely know you were in the wrong. Just face up to that fact and hopefully you will soon be back on the payroll. |
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tiggerbeeuk
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You need to carefully read your contract of employment and any other policies your company has - if you are lucky the latter may be accessible via the web from home.
If the contract says no personal internet usage, or no other jobs then yes, you are in breach of contract and can be fired.
If you are spending 10 minutes in a luchtime, when others around you are doing online shopping or similar, it would be different.
You should be allowed a union rep or another advocate in the hearing with you. Take someone who can be objective listening to both sides. Make sure the meeting is documented and you get a copy of these notes. If you need to pursue a grievance or industrial tribunal, you will need to have these notes. |
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jasonbatla
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Check out your companies policies if it's in writing that your not allowed to do certain things they have the right to termanate you if you went against their policies |
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~funkymonkey~
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Thats weird, why didn't u just get a warning? Sounds like there must be more to it.. is your online business a threat to your employer? Sounds like the employer is being too harsh. |
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Big Bad Boris Mayor of London
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At my last company they wrote a new clause in the handbook to cover email/internet misuse. I would fight this all the way as I don't think it will stand up at a tribunal and I don't think it constitutes gross misconduct either |
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Curious Steve
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it depends on your contract really. if your employer has said in your contract you cannot do this, then you have problems.
If it is not clear in a contract, then you need to get an employment solicitor and challenge them.
they cannot make you redundant if they find you guilty, redundancy is about there being no need for a position and the choice of who is made redundant is not a personal issue. if this happens the sue. |
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