Tue May 22 22:51:25 SAST 2012
Tue May 22 22:51:25 SAST 2012

SMSes can land you in court

Apr 13, 2011 | Sapa | 25 comments

MAKING loaded suggestions in an SMS, such as wishing to resign, could be held up in court, labour law consultants warned.

"Employees often resign, change their minds, want to withdraw the resignation, but the employer simply wants to move on," Global Business Solutions chief executive officer Jonathan Goldberg told Business Day.

Last year, various disputes between employers and employees centred on whether employment agreements had come to an end due to resignations or dismissals issued through cellphone messages.

The consultants found that a number of cases had arisen over the past few years in which people had argued that they did not mean what they said in SMSes.

The idea that people can resign by SMS should not come as a surprise as text messaging was just another form of communication, said labour analyst Tony Healy.

Both Healy and Goldberg agreed that poorly controlled use of technology was affecting relationships between employers and employees. Courts were already finding that comments by staff about their places of work on social media websites like Twitter can have legal repercussions.

Comments

Tue May 22 22:51:25 SAST 2012 ::
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Apr 13, 2011

mcatum

hayi ke Sorry boss I won't send sms any more or even comment in my facebook
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Apr 13, 2011

ApelMankotsana

Then the employers must categorically state in their employment contracts that termination of employment can only be done in writing to avoid the sms confusion.
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Apr 13, 2011

tpaz

RICA...will bid us....
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Apr 13, 2011

Sandile84

In Australia, summons that are issued via Facebook are legally binding. So a court can issue a summons to someone and if that someone doesn't take note of it, he/she is in trouble.
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Apr 13, 2011

spaceboi

who the hell resigns through an sms? job couldnt have been that good in the first place!
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Apr 13, 2011

TDK

Law is an asshole!!!!!
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Apr 13, 2011

KAMZAAA

Those who resign with smses means there was no bond between them and their bosses.
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Apr 13, 2011

Vendah

This is nt fair di facebook and twitter hav nothing to do with our jobs, its private and u cn say watever u want without being scared gore ur boss might snoop around
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Apr 13, 2011

Amogoro

People should act responsibly, saying whatever on face book or twitter can truly lend u into trouble. If you wish to say anything about your job or your boss you need to address it with the relevant party and not the whole world. It shows how little respect one has on his/her job and they are also cowards to use an sms
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Apr 13, 2011

Dolta

Bout freaking time yes ppl shud be held responsible fro what they are communicating on SOCIAL NETWORKS..WTF who resigns via sms hhhmmmm i blame the boss for hiring tht person in d first place...anyhu gud riddens n u cnt decide otherwise once u send an sms thru so yes it will be used against u

@Sowetan now... me am gonna hold u responsible for what is said on these blog i mean if u cant give me whoever makes k@k comments bout me after my investigations i shall come after u n thats a fact...
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