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Latest News

Smutty e-mails sackings too harsh say TUC

by Personnel Today 9 Jan 2001
by Personnel Today 9 Jan 2001

Unions have criticised the Royal Sun Alliance’s dismissal of 10 employees for circulating smutty e-mails as being excessive.

Sarah Veale, senior policy officer at the TUC, said, “The punishment was too extreme. A final warning which stated that they would lose their jobs if they re-offended would have been more appropriate.”

The Data Protection Code, which could be in force in three months time, could be used by unions to challenge employers which adopt a hard-line approach to e-mails, claimed Veale.

She added, “Employers are making the most of their powers under the law – the code should act as a check and balance to this power.”

The Royal Sun Alliance reportedly dismissed 10 employees and suspended a further 70 at its Liverpool branch for forwarding rude e-mails involving characters from The Simpsons.

The company claimed that it had a clear e-mail policy and employees were aware it would be rigorously enforced.


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www.tuc.org.uk


By Richard Staines

TUC
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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