In September 2011, the employment relations body ACAS published a series of factsheets covering the topic of social networking and social media in the workplace. These factsheets, together with a report on social media and its impact on employers and trade unions and a further research paper, form the ACAS guidance on managing the use of social media in the workplace.

The guidance is aimed at helping businesses, staff and trade unions agree how to handle employment issues related to the internet, blogs and social media websites.

According to the guidance, misuse of the internet and social media by employees is estimated to cost the UK economy up to £14 billion a year…