| Council sacks workers for surfing shopping and news websites 21 September 2007 |
| Following an investigation into improper internet usage amongst its staff, Neath Port Talbot Council has sacked two members of staff, three have resigned and two are currently under investigation. ITPro reports that the council has taken steps to investigate and discipline six members for what Graham Jones (head of strategic personnel at the council) said was "the significant amount of time officers were spending on the internet, [which] highlighted an unacceptable level of usage of shopping, entertainment and BBC/Sky-related websites". Unison Wales are planning to lodge appeals with the council on behalf of affected members. Andrew Woodward the regional organiser said that the technology exists for the council to restrict and control access to sites it deems unacceptable for employees to visit during work in addition to those it already blocks, including pornographic sites. Woodward said that clearer acceptable use policies should have been more clearly communicated, with dismissal used as the last resort. This highlights a real tension that must be drawn in the workplace, balancing staff productivity, motivation and work life balance. The majority of organisations working with EJC IT allow staff a level of personal access to the internet during work hours, balancing work outside of contracted hours and staffs support of technology such as mobile messaging which gives staff the flexibility to send and receive work email at any time. It is essential that organisations make sure employees are aware of what are acceptable levels of use as these will vary by organisation. Organisations should be wary of overly draconian measures, where in words of Woodward, "The equivalent of the conversation over the water cooler is seen as unacceptable." Also remember that it is important that staff are made aware that usage is monitored and of the reasons why this is being done. Technology such as that available from WebSense not only allows organisations to take control of internet access, but to monitor usage and defend from the increasing level of threat to security it presents. With the ability to control access by time of day, duration of access, type of site or even on a site by site basis, acceptable usage policies can be enforced and protected, significantly reducing the likelihood of a situation such as that at Neath Port Talbot. Suffice to say, the council is now installing software to manage access more effectively. |
