Employee looking for new work while on the job and HE complained to HR.

[Anonymous]

I work at a staffing agency. I noticed an employee I supervise was browsing job postings while at work. His computer is synced to my iPad via the company's Apple ID. So, I can basically see his internet browsing history.

I called him into my office and asked him about it. He didn't directly admit to it, but said that he was doing research for a client on job postings in their area. I know this is a lie because he LIVES in this area and was searching for his exact job title. His client lives in a different area. I informally reprimanded him, saying it was in poor form to do this and to please do his job searches from home.

He went to HR and made a retaliation complaint. He said I have no right to dictate his internet usage, that I have no proof he was looking for himself. He said there's no policy in the internet usage agreement that it can't be used for personal browsing on lunch breaks. That being said, I have proof that he was submitting job applications based on web pages he's visited.

HR wants to meet with me tomorrow morning. Do I have any defence here or am I screwed?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like he thought you would escalate and he attacked in advance. You should have stated this was a first warning.

If you have access to his internet usage, do you have access to the times he was browsing which pages?
Because I would assume that employees have the right to use their lunch break to do whatever they want, IF they have a lunch break in their contract.

However, his complaint doesn't have a leg to stand on, since as his supervisor, you DO have the right to monitor his internet usage and advise him about it.

[Anonymous]

Just because he can search for anything during lunch doesn't mean he can use company equipment to do so.

[Anonymous]

He sounds like a tool bag. Unless your HR is completely incompetent, they'll side with you. They have the company's interest at heart, not the employee's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like he thought you would escalate and he attacked in advance. You should have stated this was a first warning.

If you have access to his internet usage, do you have access to the times he was browsing which pages?
Because I would assume that employees have the right to use their lunch break to do whatever they want, IF they have a lunch break in their contract.

However, his complaint doesn't have a leg to stand on, since as his supervisor, you DO have the right to monitor his internet usage and advise him about it.

There's times yes. He's entitled to 30 mins/day. He's maybe checking 5 mins here and there but not at a specific length of time.

My concern is that he's quoting the internet usage policy. The policy indicates you can't visit any file sharing websites, adult websites, download unauthorized programs, etc. It doesn't say anything about personal use. Most employees check their Facebook or email at work and it's not a problem. The policy doesn't indicate anything about looking at job websites. My concern is that yes, I can monitor his internet usage but under what parameters? Do I have a right to reprimand him for something that's not in our policy/conduct book? Either way, I think it's in really bad taste for him to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He sounds like a tool bag. Unless your HR is completely incompetent, they'll side with you. They have the company's interest at heart, not the employee's.

+1 although I've dealt with more than a few completely incompetent HR groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like he thought you would escalate and he attacked in advance. You should have stated this was a first warning.

If you have access to his internet usage, do you have access to the times he was browsing which pages?
Because I would assume that employees have the right to use their lunch break to do whatever they want, IF they have a lunch break in their contract.

However, his complaint doesn't have a leg to stand on, since as his supervisor, you DO have the right to monitor his internet usage and advise him about it.

There's times yes. He's entitled to 30 mins/day. He's maybe checking 5 mins here and there but not at a specific length of time.

My concern is that he's quoting the internet usage policy. The policy indicates you can't visit any file sharing websites, adult websites, download unauthorized programs, etc. It doesn't say anything about personal use. Most employees check their Facebook or email at work and it's not a problem. The policy doesn't indicate anything about looking at job websites. My concern is that yes, I can monitor his internet usage but under what parameters? Do I have a right to reprimand him for something that's not in our policy/conduct book? Either way, I think it's in really bad taste for him to do this.

What you think is in "bad taste" is irrelevant. If employees are currently using the internet for personal use, and there's no policy against looking at job websites, then no, you may not reprimand him for it. If his internet use is interfering with his ability to do his job, then you reprimand him for not getting his work done. But if he's checking for a few minutes a day, I doubt that's the case.

[Anonymous]

He will be gone soon. HR has to talk to you as well. It's their job. It will probably go nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Why are you micromanaging him?

Is he not doing his job?

[Anonymous]

You sound like a pain. No wonder he's looking for another job.

[Anonymous]

He has no leg to stand on that there is any reasonable complaint. Your words of caution are reasonable. HR is required to have a meeting with you to address a formal complain lodged, which he has done. It sounds as if this is a mere formality. It will all be documented and nothing will happen unless there are further or escalating incidents. For example, if, as he says there are no details in the internet usage guidelines about job hunting while on the job, he should be restricted. Your reprimand was a behavior guideline of a direct report supervisor, which, within reason is allowed. However, if you end up including this behavior as part of his annual performance review, then it could be considered retaliation and unfair treatment.

Also note that browsing for jobs is not a violation of most companies' policies. However, applying for jobs is. Most companies will state that limited personal use is allowed. However, an employee may not use company resources for personal gain. So, employees are not allowed to run side businesses using their company IT assets (email address, web pages, even Internet). And employees should certainly not be applying for positions using company resources. Browsing and applying for jobs are sufficiently different that in most companies, the former, while inappropriate is allowed, but the latter is not.

[Anonymous]

It's in bad taste, I agree, but it doesn't sound like it's illegal.

Especially since you say he does it in 5 min. bursts. If you point out that he's not doing it during a designated lunch time, he's probably going to raise a stink about other employees checking their FB accounts and email not during lunch hours.

I've seen scenarios like this be the reason new, harsher company internet policies go into effect.

I even worked in one office where after a complaint like this arose, only certain people were granted internet access (those that absolutely needed it for their jobs) and everyone else only had the intranet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like a pain. No wonder he's looking for another job.

+1, what is the big deal that he does it at lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just because he can search for anything during lunch doesn't mean he can use company equipment to do so.

Yes he can unless their is a company policy. Just like you can call your kids on your phone.

[Anonymous]

I'm a sr manager and I would never micromanage my employees to the point of checking their internet usage unless they weren't getting their job done in a timely manner. If that's the case then I would address the time management issue.