This comes after the year started with several people expressing views on social media which were seen to be racist. The chain reaction seems to have been started by Jawitz employee Penny Sparrow who likened black people to monkeys and escalated with Velaphi Khumalo suggesting white South Africans be handled the same way Hitler dealt with Jewish people.
“Although every person is entitled to their own opinion, whether you are an employee or a contractor, it is important to understand that your opinions may have ramifications,” said Makapane.
“What social media has done is it has bridged the divide between what we used to consider private space and space that the companies used to own - we no longer work for a company for eight hours in a day but the whole time,” said Makapane.
He adds: “The trick about it is this, it is not only tweets or posts that you make today - three years from now you might be looking for a job in a space where you once criticised someone in it.”
Makapane explains how disclaimers mean nothing, if anything they attract more scrutiny and curiosity.
"The moment you say that, it seems to actually attract people to Google you and what comes up first is normally LinkedIn and people are able to see where you work - that disclaimer does not work - already you are telling the public you are worried about your employer and about where you are contracted."
Employers also have a responsibility to be informed, like in the Gareth Cliff instance, Makapane states "They reacted to a social outcry, a warning to companies: Although you can give credence to what the public has to say, be careful not to violate the right of your employees or contractors as well”.
Social media conducts are no different from any normal misconduct cases Makapane says and that they need to be treated the same, through process like a hearing and be able to substantiate the reasons why the employee should face sanction.
The concept of criminalising hate speech has been around for a while the lawyer said, “Whether it is racism or hate speech, we already have laws dealing with it, it is just that these laws are perhaps not that popular or known to the public and they are not being affected,” said Makapane.
“This indicates to me just how many South African's actually don't know about the existence of those laws - But I guess this is why we are lawyers."
By: Tendai Dube.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations &
Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam