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Original poster

Internet at work

61 replies

Bernie52 · 30/10/2015 16:32

Hi everyone. Bit of a Friday question. My first one so but nervous :-). I have been working for my boss for nearly 16 months now and I (like everyone) go on the Internet at work. Not all the time but sometimes I like to have a good look around. I work hard for my boss and often work late so therefore sometimes I might spend longer than a lunchtime on the net. Someone 'grassed' on me to the hr team and now I've been invited to a disciplinary about my internet usage. Can I get fired for going on the Internet at work? Everyone else seems to!?! Really worried.

OP posts:

bloodyteenagers · 30/10/2015 18:02

Ours doesn't matter if it's illegal sites or not. We don't tolerate shopping and other non work related browsing.

Original poster

Bernie52 · 30/10/2015 18:05

So if I have an unblemished hr record and well liked do you think it's sackable? Defo gonna change my habits now!

OP posts:

BondJayneBond · 30/10/2015 18:06

You need to find out if your workplace has an internet policy, and if so, what it says about personal internet use.

The policies in places I've worked have generally said limited personal use outside of working hours (e.g. lunchtime, before and after core hours) is acceptable. Other places may be stricter. Regular personal internet use of 2 hours a day sounds like quite a lot - but if you're in the habit of keeping the internet on in the background, it may look like you've been on the internet for a lot longer than you actually have been.

EWLT · 30/10/2015 18:10

"So if I have an unblemished hr record and well liked do you think it's sackable?"

It could be a sackable offence, depending on your contract etc, but IME you would only lose your job if there are other reasons they want to get rid of you. Poor performance, trouble making, just needing to cut numbers.

Where I work drink driving is gross misconduct, but the only people who have been sacked for it are people who should have been sacked long ago IYSWIM

IguanaTail · 30/10/2015 18:11

The IT department are likely to have a record of every site you have visited. All you can do is assure them you will not access anything in future.

BondJayneBond · 30/10/2015 18:13

I think they'd have to be classing it as gross misconduct to sack you for this if you've got an unblemished disciplinary record?

Pigeonpost · 30/10/2015 18:14

Two hours is a lot. Although if you are using it for genuine reasons that's different. But they will be able to look through your history anyway and tell whether you have been MN'ing or reading up on competitors..

BondJayneBond · 30/10/2015 18:20

I'd guess that they've already looked at the sites visited and decided that the OP's spending rather too much time on non-work related sites, given that spending time online reading up about competitors is a part of her job.

SuburbanRhonda · 30/10/2015 18:21

I think your real problem is that you get distracted easily. Once this disciplinary is over, maybe you could speak to HR about getting some help with that.

chillycurtains · 30/10/2015 18:24

Maybe just go in really apologetic and explain that you've learnt a lesson and that you thought it would be ok as you spend extra time at work but you understand now that it is not ok and will stop. If this is your first disciplinary action then hopefully if you show the right attitude at the interview with HR it will work out. As others have said stop doing it now and just work your contracted hours. Don't look up competitors, etc unless specifically part of your tasks and then close the windows afterwards. And save the banking, etc until you are at home. I a manager and I pick up on staff internet browsing at work but would deal with it directly tbh. I feel Soory for you that someone felt the need to grass you up without talking to you informally first. That is a little unprofessional from your workplace imo.

Obs2015 · 30/10/2015 19:00

2 hours is an awful lot.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 30/10/2015 19:06

The distraction is the reason that this usually isn't allowed - looking at one thing on the internet leads to looking at something else, and something else, and so on until you've actually lost a lot more time than you thought.

At this point, you don't have many options. Most companies can track IT usage, but don't do so unless someone flags it to them, so there's a chance that they know what you've looked at when even if they didn't know it was happening before the complaint.

Finding out if you've got an internet/social media policy, when it was introduced and if you've ever seen it, are quite important. If you don't, check that it's not mentioned in your contract, too.

DragonsCanHop · 30/10/2015 19:15

Don't mention working 10hrs instead of 8hrs a day. Your spending 2 hours a day surfing the net and then making the time up in unpaid overtime!

You are most likely to get a warning which will be held on file for 12 months, if you continue how you are now then yes it will be a sackable offence in those 12 months.

Be really apologetic, explain about reading up on industry news and tell them you have thought about it and won't be doing it in the future during working hours.

Work your normal hours and surf the net in your own time.

EBearhug · 30/10/2015 19:44

When I've had to check internet logs, it usually shows user & IP address, time and site they were accessing. And I have been asked to do that by HR when they've been investigating someone. This isn't always because someone's grassed them up - there are various automatic checks going on as well, which might be followed up if it looks like there's a problem.

As everyone has said, check your company's policy. It can be a sacking offence, but as long as the rest of your work is okay, then it'll probably just be a warning.

Has your manager ever mentioned this to you before? If there is a policy, have they ever pointed it out?

StealthPolarBear · 30/10/2015 19:45

Do hr departments tend to filter out the work related sites before starting proceedings? There will be days when I've been surfing the Internet all day!

EBearhug · 30/10/2015 19:58

Someone spending all day on technical sites isn't a problem - I've certainly spent many hours in a day reading up technical information, logging problems, updates and error messages and so on. I can't do my job without internet access these days, and quite probably lots of other roles are like that, too.

Certain roles, like Comms, might have legitimate reasons for spending a lot of time on Twitter or Facebook. Most other people won't, especially if they're actively posting, rather than just reading. The logs will usually show the URLs connected to, so it's fairly easy to see what's likely to be legit and related to someone's work role or not. Plus some stuff is automatically blocked (as I discovered when I tried to log a sighting of an unusual bird on site with TVERC - Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre. Words like twerk are on an automatic block list, though that one is now unblocked.)

LittlePie14 · 30/10/2015 20:24

agreed with the various checks and random. e.g. in my company there's a monthly meeting I hold for Information Security. We have systems in place that monitor what sites, who has the highest internet presence etc. If you've flagged up somewhere that could be it. EOD - if you don't think you've got anything to worry about performance wise, I'm sure you're going to be fine :)

HopefulHamster · 30/10/2015 21:14

I feel for you OP. My current work has never checked up on online use and we're a media firm. Everyone's online all day long. I have the same chrome windows up when I'm at home with the work laptop as I do when I'm at work. I have genuine work reasons to be online all day, but yes, I probably have a gmail/mumsnet/shop window open all day. I'd feel upset if this was suddenly wrong.

Hmmm obviously people will point out that I am in the wrong too, but it's definitely the norm where I am.

blueshoes · 30/10/2015 23:40

How on earth do working mothers post on mn during the day if their internet usage policy at work is so strict? None of my workplaces monitored internet usage (barring porn).

However, if you are hauled up, you would have to ultimately bite the bullet and stop. This would be your first warning. But get an understanding you can do work-related surfing.

madmother1 · 30/10/2015 23:45

Blimey....I'd be sacked looking at the Internet for such a long time. If I need to use it for work it would just be for 5 mins at the most. Fb and you tube are not accessible where I work either. All our computer useage is monitored.

Funinthesun15 · 30/10/2015 23:48

Probably about 2 hours each day but intermittently so just keep it on.

That length of time where I work would certainly lead to disaplinary action.

You have only been there for 16 months so they could technI call you let you go.

Funinthesun15 · 30/10/2015 23:48

*technically

EBearhug · 31/10/2015 01:10

How on earth do working mothers post on mn during the day if their internet usage policy at work is so strict?

It's probably not those working mothers who are posting during the day.

MN is too sweary for work anyway.

daisychain01 · 31/10/2015 06:41

I'd be very apologetic.

a bit of practical advice --

Don't say - nobody told me about the Internet policy, or I didn't know there was an Internet policy (ignorance is no defence in law)
don't say - but I work 10 or 11 hours for you (this makes you look like you cant manage your time effectively)
Don't say - but I use the Internet to research competitors and industry information (tthey can review your browsing history and see what proportion of time is spent on work V leisure browsing, so it will come across as defensive

If you need to use the Internet for research, I would say upfront, please can I have (say) 30 mins max per week to check out xyz, and give them a list of the sites you want to look at, so you rebuild trust and show you recognise your problem.

BondJayneBond · 31/10/2015 06:48

How on earth do working mothers post on mn during the day if their internet usage policy at work is so strict?

Either you don't post on mn at all during the day, or you post using your smartphone during breaks (e.g. lunchtime)

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