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A recent ruling by a UK judge has determined that spending less than an hour browsing properties or shopping online during work hours does not warrant dismissal. The case involved an accountancy administrator who was awarded over £14,000 after being fired for using her work computer for personal activities such as visiting Rightmove and Amazon. The judge concluded that the time spent on these sites was not deemed “excessive” and ruled that the dismissal was unfair.
The worker, identified as Ms A Lanuszka, was terminated from her position in July 2023 after her employer discovered her personal use of the work computer through spy software. Despite the surveillance revealing over an hour of personal internet use, the judge highlighted that a significant portion of that time was actually dedicated to professional development activities like Excel training. Furthermore, it was noted that there were no existing policies prohibiting the use of work computers for personal reasons.
Employment Judge Michael Magee pointed out that the timing of Ms Lanuszka’s dismissal coincided with the owner’s sister permanently moving to the UK. He suggested that the employer may have wanted to terminate Ms Lanuszka before she reached the two-year mark of employment, which would have allowed her to claim unfair dismissal. The judge also criticized the diary entries presented as evidence of performance issues, stating that they were dated after the alleged discussions took place.
Ms Lanuszka had joined Accountancy MK in 2017 and signed a new contract in 2021 when the company name was changed by the owner, Ms Krauze. The ruling emphasized that Ms Lanuszka had no prior conduct problems and had not received any warnings before her abrupt dismissal in 2023. Judge Magee’s decision highlighted the lack of clear policies restricting personal computer use and underscored that Ms Lanuszka was entitled to utilize the device for personal activities during breaks and when work commitments permitted
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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