The F words: fries, Facebook, free speech and fidelity?

Photo / Glenn Taylor

We've all heard the F word.

Some have even watched the F word, and heard chef Gordon Ramsay's famous, if not gratuitous and creative overuse of this word.

And we know that using the F word isn't generally appropriate in the workplace.

But these days, there are other 'f words' causing issues - Facebook, free speech and fidelity.

Case in point: Burger King employee, Julie Tyler, has been disciplined by her employer, after she posted on Facebook the message: "real jobs don't underpay and overwork people like BK does". Burger King considered the conduct may amount to serious misconduct and Ms Tyler was ultimately issued with a final written warning.

Ms Tyler is represented by the Unite Union, which claims that, amongst other things, Burger King is attempting to control what its employees think and that the statement represents what most New Zealanders know to be true about the fast food industry. It has indicated that it will challenge the final written warning.

It is difficult to comment on the case in detail as there are factors that are not publicly known and which may impact on the lawfulness of Burger King's actions, such as whether there are any previous related disciplinary issues and whether the message was posted during work time.

But leaving aside the specifics of the case, the ability of employees to post comments on Facebook about their employer, remains a vexing issue.

Should employees be free to post comments about their employer on Facebook? Is this just free speech, or does this breach the employee's duty of fidelity?

Next time you order a burger, ask yourself: do I want fries, free speech, or fidelity with that?



Bridget Smith is an employment lawyer at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts.