Is there an advice resource for people whose social media contributions have been picked up and used against them?

[MrPan]

This has happened. Any directions would be appreciated.
tia

So You’ve Been Publically Shamed by Jon Ronson?

No, it's a confidential employment issue.

You might have to be a little more expansive about what the situation is. Not enough info to go on to be able to offer help

It could be a data breach, so start with that, and approach your HR department if you have one. Also, contact ACAS.

On which form of social media did this happen?

Suggest you take this to the employment board or the legal issues board MrPan . Not sure that FWR is best placed to advise you - certainly not without a much clearer explanation of what has happened.

www.crashoverridenetwork.com/resources.html

Thanks all. Yes I know it's a bit paltry but necessary for confidentiality purposes.
I stated the v obvious on Twitter and a formal procedure has been commenced against me.
I cannot be the first person in the U.K. this has happened to so I'd look for any previous experiences and case examples.

The followingbpost contains assumptions that what you wrote is something gender critical. You could try:

Reminding your employer that sex is a protected characteristic under the EA
Reminding your employer that being a Feminist is not illegal (yet.)
Reminding your employer that what you’re wrote was factual (if it was.)

I would speak to your union and get legal advice.

The first thing you need to look at is your employment contract - is there anything in there about social media use, bringing the company into disrepute or anything else they could shoehorn this into?

Next step is to call ACAS - go online and look at their guidelines. Your employer must follow the ACAS guidelines.

Feel free to DM me if you want to discuss further

There was an online doct about advice on this I think I saw on twitter. Does anyone remember this and have the link?

MrPan There may be something useful in this thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3204901-ffs-flagged-at-work-for-gender-critical-views

It was mentioned in James Kirkup's Spectator article March 2018:
'Fear and loathing grips the gender debate'

(extract)
"Real-world encounters can be nastier still: Judith Green wrote here about organising Woman’s Place UK meetings for “gender critical” women. The video here, meanwhile, shows what happened to a female trade unionist who had attended one of those meetings; it seems she was identified as attending and then targeted for mob abuse when she stood on a picket line some days later. That aggression wasn’t unique; one accusation of assault is before the courts, arising from an incident following protests against a meeting where feminists gathered to debate gender laws.

Other stories in this area involve women who speak out using their own names getting abusive messages at home and at work. In both the public and private sectors, being accused of transphobic bigotry is no small matter, and even many people who know they are doing nothing more than asking questions about an issue of public interest feel reluctant to risk being tarnished with such accusations, no matter how baseless they may be. (For real-world examples of this, see Mumsnet: this thread is just the latest to pop up while I was writing this. There are too many others.)" continues

blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/03/fear-and-loathing-grips-the-gender-debate/

If you were anonymous on Twitter it may be a breach of GDPR/DPA.

Thanks all again. Busy with domestic things last night.
No not anonymous on Twitter which was the problem. I am fairly easy to identify. The biological fact I stated seems to run at odds with my employers policy.

Thanks for those links ROwan. Yes it does become v real when you are sitting opposite someone from HR who has a formal procedure doc in front of them.

MrPan it may be worthwhile having a look on the Fairplay for Women site or even contacting them:
fairplayforwomen.com

Thank You! Will look to those things but am on work so it will be sporadic.

There was a post made by I think @SwearyG around the time there was a data breach on their members list & she posted advice on how to respond to employers if anyone is challenged on their views etc. I've tried to find the post but think it might have been deleted or the thread pulled.

It was something along the lines of having feminist beliefs/a belief that biology matters could be protected under the EA2010 as religion & beliefs are protected characteristics as well. Maybe Sweary could come & repost that, assuming I've remembered the right person.

This link has details of cases about social media employment cases, not sure if they'll be similar to your situation but worth reading through.

This was the legal advice for the members of #MAnFriday whose personal private details and data were breached and published on social media ( 'doxxed' )
it was posted by SwearyG on the thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3292541-Heads-up-to-all-ManFriday-members

1. Being a member of a feminist activist group is not grounds for an employer to start any disciplinary proceedings

1. Having gender critical/feminist beliefs is protected by the Equality Act. Employers may not discriminate against people with these beliefs

1. ManFriday activism is intended to highlight institutional failures to invoke sex exemptions as set out in the Equality Act. If an employee is treated badly at work due to this then their employer is victimising them.

1. Any trouble contact their union for support

1. If not in union then post in Mumsnet and we can find legal advice and support

More from our legal bod:

Advice

1. Contact your employer first thing and tell them you have been doxxed.

1. Explain that MF is a group set up to protest regarding institutional failures to invoke sex exemptions set out in the Equality Act. Your concerns are primarily about safeguarding.

1. You are concerned that your employer may be targeted by people who oppose the implementation of sex exemptions and who disagree about safeguarding

1. You are happy to assist the company in responding to any allegations thrown at it but suggest that the company’s reply should be that it respects the rights of its employees to express their feminist beliefs whilst it may not hold those beliefs itself.

1. As before: any problems with employer then please get in touch

1. If feeling bold: ask your employer to endorse the application of sex exemptions in the event that they are implemented as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

👍

It's a tricky area. With gender reassignment a protected characteristic employers may be very chary of being associated with people who declare, for example, that they will never call a trans woman she.

REOLay There's nothing to indicate your suggestion is relevent to OP.

Interesting example chosen though.

As a working biologist, working in a company that requires accurate data for patient safety, and being devoted to said patient safety as part of my professional being, I’d be fairly put out if my employer insisted that humans can change sex.

Do you believe humans can change sex REOlay?

Well quite, that's not it at all REO, it's what people would safely assume is non-controversial and plain fact.

As I'd said I can't be the only person in the UK who has come up against this, so whilst this matter IS about me, there will be a much broader consequence possible to others of simply stating fact, hence the enquiry of FWR for other such cases so we may learn from each other's case histories.