Workers sacked for surfing porn

July 09 2002

Workers sacked for surfing porn

The majority of sackings for internet misuse are due to workers downloading porn, says a new survey.

A quarter of UK companies have dismissed employees for internet misconduct.

And 40% of all complaints came from co-workers, a survey of more than 500 personnel managers found.

A total of 69% of dismissals were for workers surfing pornographic websites, according to the research published on Tuesday.

Nearly three quarters of firms questioned had dealt with internet misuse, with chat rooms and personal e-mails coming second and third respectively in terms of most frequent complaints.

Warnings issued

Researchers found that more than half of managers preferred to deal with these complaints by having a "quiet word" with workers.

But 29% favoured using verbal warnings.

The study - carried out for magazine Personnel Today and management consultants Websense - interviewed 544 human resources managers and officers from companies employing an average of 2,500 people.

Jonathan Naylor, a barrister in the employment, pensions and benefits division of law firm Morgan Cole said: "Dismissing an employee for Internet misuse is a substantial cost to the employer."

"While there are the obvious costs of advertising for new hires, recruitment, training and supervision, there are also additional financial burdens caused by the interruption to work patterns, the damage to morale and the negative publicity to the organisation as a result of the dismissal."