Work group chats have become a staple in modern workplaces, offering ease of use and an informal communication style. However, employers and employees are often unaware of the rising legal significance of this communication medium.
According to a recent survey, the use of WhatsApp messages in tribunal cases has surged. Survey data recorded an increase of 185% over the past five years.
Chats were used in 427 tribunal cases in 2024. So, how can you navigate the risks, and what are the DOs and DON’Ts of group chats? Employment dispute services navigating complex workplace disputes.
DO: Include everyone in the Group Chat. The case of Mr M Brosnan vs Coalo Limited illustrates the costly consequences of excluding employees from work group chats. Mr Brosnan had been left out of the Work Group Chat as he was ill when it was created.
However, this chat was used to communicate important information within the business – including health and safety information.
As a result of exclusion, Mr Brosman did not receive critical health and safety updates. Sadly, owing to this critical omission, Mr Brosnan sustained two accidents at work .
The judge found excluding the claimant in the group chat was a contributory factor to the accidents. As a result, the claimant was awarded £130K in damages due to the accident.
Additionally, the judge was critical that the exclusion also deprived the claimant socially.
At the tribunal, the judge warned that purposeful exclusion could constitute ‘unfavourable treatment’ under the Equality Act.
In this case the claimant was awarded £18K for injury to feelings due to the exclusion .
DON’T: Allow disrespectful behaviour. This point was made clear in the case of Miss Emma Bond vs Police Service Northern Ireland.
Miss Bond suffered misogynistic abuse by colleagues in a private group chat. In one chat a male colleague said, ‘What a f*****g stupid c**t. Think we all know how she got promoted.’
Failure to address such comments by the employer contributes to a toxic work culture. In addition, it also places the employer at risk of a successful discrimination claim.
Miss Bond successfully claimed that an a male colleague would not have been subjected to such treatment.
As a result, she was successful in her sex discrimination claim. She was awarded £31K.
Another case involving discriminatory abuse in a group chat is the case of Ms Abdi vs Deltec International. In this case, Ms Abdi, who wears a headscarf, was insulted due to her race and religion.
Ms Abdi, was referred to as a ‘postbox’, ‘terrorist’ and ‘f****g immigrant’ in private messages by her colleagues.
One message even threatened to ‘rip her headscarf off’. Shockingly, the chat included her direct line manager, who did nothing to put a stop to the abuse. Ms Abdi was awarded £25K, including £20K for injury to feelings.
DO: Respect privacy. In the case of FKJ vs RVT and others, an employee made an employment tribunal claim for sexual harassment.
The respondents, as part of the defence of the case, cited private messages between the claimant and her boyfriend and her best friend. The messages, which numbered over 18 000 over two years, included personal details about the claimant’s health and sex life.
The respondent claimed to have found the messages on the claimant’s work laptop following her dismissal.
The claimant claimed her private messages were hacked, with the respondent using them to undermine her claim.
Following the initial tribunal, the claimant filed a subsequent claim. This second claim was for damages due to misuse of private information claim.
As these recent legal cases highlight, courts do regard informal communication as evidence. Employers need to to put in place safeguards. Employers should consider:
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