[imagesource: Hippopx]

WhatsApp in the workplace is a risky business.

Since the platform is open to abuse and misconceptions, a lot is riding on WhatsApp group admins and chat members to play it down the line when interacting online.

At the end of the day, all conversations, no matter how private, can be subject to the conditions of a number of different South African regulations and laws.

The potential legal ramifications for group admins in South Africa ramped up when WhatsApp rolled out an updated feature allowing group admins to delete something shared by other members.

This means that admins have a huge responsibility now to police messages and multimedia sent to their WhatsApp groups, and could be held liable if a negative situation is not handled correctly.

However, while companies and WhatsApp group admins might be held responsible for not deleting harmful content, they can’t necessarily be held accountable for the content itself.

MyBroadband spoke to lawyer Phetheni Nkuna, who said that the main responsibility still lies with the original publisher of the defamatory message:

Nkuna explained that companies could be held vicariously liable if defamatory content is published under the banner of its name or using its resources.

“It also needs to be considered whether the company was aware or if it, by conduct, encouraged the publication of that harmful or defamatory statement,” she said.

Companies will now need to protect themselves by implementing strict policies related to employees posting defamatory or harmful content online:

“Companies need to take the necessary precautions, have policies in place, monitor and educate their employees, and also tell them of what the consequences of breaching its policies or harming its good name would be,” she said.

Things get tricky, though, when it comes to the legal definition of defamation.

According to Nkuna, something is defamatory when “a reasonable person of ordinary intelligence might have reasonably understood the words to convey a meaning that is defamatory of the person with the complaint”.

To further clarify, she added that a “reasonable person is somebody who is not necessarily of a suspicious mind, someone who is super critical, or somebody who is abnormally sensitive”.

Defamatory content includes written words, verbal statements, pictures, and memes and can be directed at absolutely anybody.

As IT Web notes, there are also other issues to consider when opening up a business to WhatsApp communication, according to Nicol Myburgh, the head of CRS Technologies HCM Business Unit:

 “On one hand, you need to consider the legislation and regulations that can impact these communications, and on the other are the rules your company implements around what can and cannot be said on this platform.”

This goes for managers messaging employees after working hours, which goes against the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, stating that an employee is not allowed to work for more than 45 ordinary working hours a week:

“If an employee doesn’t respond, that’s their decision. The business can’t force them to respond and, honestly, managers shouldn’t be sending WhatsApp messages outside of normal hours in the first place,” says Myburgh.

“It’s also important to consider the content of WhatsApp messages. You need to create a very clear internal code of good practice within the company that unpacks behaviour, language, what’s considered offensive and security.”

Just remember that what’s funny for one person may be hugely offensive for another.

Unfortunately, if a situation like that pops up nowadays, that just means that both the employee and the business will potentially become liable.

[sources:mybroadband&itweb]