The Gay UK November 2015 Issue 16 | Page 99

ADVICELEGAL Unwanted conduct = harassment. Adding colleagues to your social media network is becoming the norm, and the office is increasingly a place where romantic partners meet. However, flirty text messages and risqué snapchat messages are not always welcome. Likewise, those off-colour jokes don’t sit well with everyone. Harassment is where unwanted conduct, whether of a sexual nature or related to a protected characteristic, creates a working environment that that is offensive, hostile, humiliating or intimidating to work in. Therefore, your employer can take disciplinary action against you (or a colleague) in this situation. If you are receiving messages from a colleague, then do turn to your employer for help if you are made to feel uncomfortable. Don’t be this girl. A few years ago a facebook post from a girl known as Lindsay went viral for all the wrong reasons. Lindsay had posted a status which said, "My boss is a total pervvy *****, always making me do **** stuff to **** me off!" Her boss got the final word by replying directly to the status: "Firstly, don't flatter yourself. Secondly, you've worked here 5 months and didn't you work out that I'm gay? Thirdly, that '**** stuff' is called your 'job', you know, what I pay you to do. But the fact that you seem to be able to **** up the simplest of tasks might contribute to how you feel about it. using social media well certainly help avoid any difficult situations especially when it comes to work. "And lastly, you also seem to have forgotten that you have 2 weeks left on your 6 month trial period. Don't bother coming in tomorrow. "I'll pop your P45 in the post and you can come in whenever you like to pick up any stuff you've left here. And yes, I'm serious." If there is one thing that will have hurt Lindsay more than receiving her P45, is the fact that the whole world seemed to enjoy her boss getting his own back. Social M