Social Media Policy

Introduction

Social Media plays a significant role in many people’s lives. We know it’s an important part of the way we all connect and can be a powerful tool in connecting our community. 

This policy is to provide guidance on the use of Social Media at work and outside of work and applies to all members of the Hireup community including Support Workers, Clients, Account Managers and Contractors. It should help you feel confident when using Social Media, whether it’s to talk about Hireup – our services, our people and our community – or anything else. The policy forms part of Hireup’s Standards and Procedures that you are required to comply with.

It is the responsibility of all Hireup Support Workers, Clients, Account Managers and Contractors to familiarise themselves and comply with this policy.

Scope

The Social Media Policy applies to:

• Support Workers
• Clients
• Account Managers
• Contractors 

It applies to your use of any website or application that enables sharing of content or information, or supports social interactions. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Vine, Flickr, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, blogs, any instant messaging service, Yammer, TikTok, any news publication, and many more. 

This policy also applies to your use of closed forums such as private Facebook groups and public forums such as Reddit.  

All of the above are collectively referred to as “Social Media.”

Please be mindful that your behaviour is bound by this policy, as well as the Hireup and NDIS Code of Conduct, even outside work hours and when material is posted anonymously or using an alias or pseudonym (as having an online presence means you could be traced back to Hireup even if you do not identify as being affiliated with Hireup).

When using Social Media you are required to comply with this policy, as well as others including our Code of Conduct and Hireup’s Privacy Policy. 

Principles

While the Hireup Community is encouraged to participate in Social Media, it is important to understand that when you are interacting officially or personally on Social Media you are required to follow the below principles: 

• Be respectful and professional at all times
• Be polite, fair and considerate
• Make sure your activities do not create any harm
• Do not criticise people or take any action which may bring Hireup into disrepute
• Do not not harass, bully or intimidate 
• Acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly
• Do not knowingly post inaccurate information 
• Provide links to online references and original source materials directly 
• Where possible disclose conflicts of interest 

Obtaining consent to post

If you wish to share information, including photos, about someone you work with on the Hireup platform, you will need to obtain their consent to do so. For example, the following apply to the circumstances:

• If you are a client, you will need consent from your support worker to post about your support worker on Social Media 
• If you are a support worker, you will need consent from your client to share information about your client on Social Media

Permissions 

Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, you do not have permission to post Hireup content purporting to be posting with Hireup’s authority. However, in showing your affiliation or support for Hireup you can repost and retweet Hireup posts and material or comments without substantially changing or altering meanings. 

Inappropriate Use

As above, you are required to at all times be guided by the Principles when using Social Media.  You will breach this policy if you engage in inappropriate use of Social Media. 

Inappropriate use of Social Media includes: 

• Using discriminatory, defamatory, abusive, intimidating or otherwise objectionable language
• Stalking, bullying, trolling or marginalising any individual or group
• Engaging in discriminatory conduct
• Engaging in deliberately argumentative conduct without reason in a manner that may bring Hireup into disrepute
• Uploading, sharing or otherwise engaging with illegal or inappropriate content; pornographic, gambling, including extreme images of graphic content, violence, violent behaviour or information regarding firearms, bombs, terrorism activity
• Uploading confidential information regarding Hireup or our community 
• Hacking or attempting to infiltrate systems 
• Criticising or denigrating Hireup or anyone in our community
• Paid endorsement of any kind without express written consent from Hireup
• Other activity that may bring Hireup or a person’s ability to act in a professional manner into disrepute.

Policy Breach

We are all accountable for what we do on Social Media. Misuse of Social Media can have serious consequences for Hireup and our users. 

Disciplinary action, including termination of your employment or service agreement, may be taken if this policy is breached.

Reporting and Complaints

At Hireup, we genuinely care about the safety of our community. Everyone is responsible for notifying Hireup of any inappropriate content, or any other breach of this policy, as soon as is reasonably practicable. 

If you are concerned about any inappropriate content on Social Media or otherwise wish to report behaviour that is in breach of this policy, please follow our incident report process, which is monitored 24 hours a day. 

Alternatively, if you wish to make a complaint or offer feedback about us, contact Hireup using our 24-hour online incident report form, email Hireup at hello@hireup.com.au or phone us between 9am and 5pm on (02) 9113 5933.

In the case of an emergency you should call 000.

Related Policies

If you would like to access our other policies and procedures please click this link: Policies and Procedures

Version 1    I    Revision date:  Aug 2019    I    All previous versions are superseded    I    © Hireup Pty Ltd.

This document will be reviewed annually unless legislative or organisational changes require earlier review.