SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY HR 200.42

All persons employed by the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) Government are to abide by the attached Social Media Policy HR 200.42, which may apply to any person employed by the NCN Government, NCN agency or Corporation.

Any breach of this policy “may result in discipline if the use of social media creates potential harm to the reputation of NCN or the NCN agency or business and NCN’s ability to efficiently manage its operations or businesses.”

Please refrain from using social networking sites during working, unless the use is directly related to your work duties.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

 

HR 200.42 – SOCIAL MEDIA

Policy Statement

The use of social media by any person employed by the NCN government, an NCN agency or corporation, including during non-working hours (off-duty conduct) may result in discipline if the use of social media creates potential harm to the reputation of NCN or the NCN agency or business and NCN’s ability to efficiently manage its operations or businesses. While NCN employees have constitutional rights to freedom of expression, including the right to use social media, this right is not unlimited and thus, NCN employees must always use good judgement when exercising their rights to free speech. While NCN employees are entitled to their opinions, they also have a duty of loyalty to their employer and publicly displaying their opinions may have consequences in relation to the ongoing viability of their employment relationship. Therefore, this policy is designed to provide all NCN employees with guidelines regarding the appropriate use of social media, including Facebook, to avoid irreparably damaging their employment relationship with NCN, including NCN agencies and businesses.

Definition Social Media

For purposes of this policy, social media includes those media which use web and mobile based technologies for interactive communication between individuals and organizations and Includes all social networking sites, internet forums, weblogs, blogs and micro blogs, wikis, podcasts, email, text messaging, instant messaging and other forms of similar media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Google.

Regulations

NCN employees must refrain from using social networking sites during working hours such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, unless the use is directly related to their work duties.

  • NCN employees must not disclose confidential or proprietary information through social media, including the NCN Facebook page. Disclosure of confidential or proprietary information without prior authorization may result in immediate termination.
  • NCN employees will be held responsible for what they write or post through social media, including the NCN Facebook page. Inflammatory comments, harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying or abusive or disparaging remarks, or negative/ inappropriate language or posts may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
  • NCN employees must not engage in discussions regarding issues related to their work, NCN businesses or NCN government issues through social media of any kind without prior approval from management.
    First Review: April, 2017 Second Review: April 2018 Last Amendment: November 27, 2019
  • NCN employees must not post text, images or video that was created by someone else without proper attribution and/or authorization as such action could violate copyright laws. If you have questions about copyright law and/or usage of certain media, contact the NCN HR department.
  • Social media, including Facebook is not a substitute for inter- governmental or agency communications. Important information should be transmitted within normal NCN communication channels, not through social media.
  • Social media is not a substitute for customer service. Any NCN Citizen who has a question about service should be directed to the appropriate NCN department instead of handling inquiries entirely through social media, including Facebook.
  • In the event that an NCN employee discovers any group that users have formed to discuss the NCN government, its leadership, NCN businesses, services, staff or any matters to NCN governmental or business operations, are to be brought to the attention of management or the HR department.
  • All NCN employees have a responsibility to relay concerns about the use of social media to management or the HR department as soon as possible.
  • If you have questions about how to respond to a specific post or group, discuss the issue with management or the HR department prior to posting.
  • Violations of this Social Media Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.