Managers 'need to set web rules'

Management skills should be put to use to develop a clear set of "ground rules" for work-place internet usage, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said.

The organisation has suggested that employers are sometimes unsure of how to approach the potential problem of staff using social networking websites.

"Increasingly people are using sites like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo to help them with their jobs as well as to chat to friends," secretary general Brendan Barber said.

"Problems arise when employers are unsure how to deal with these sites and overreact by disciplining staff," he added, suggesting that managers need to sit down with employees and unions "to agree the ground rules on internet usage [so] that everyone knows what they can and can't do".

Research from Sophos suggests that 50 per cent of UK employees are denied access to Facebook at work. In the same survey managers expressed concern about the productivity and security impact of the social networking site.