Should employers ask for access to a (potential) employees Social Media account?

There have been many stories recently about employers asking for access to an employees, or a potential employees, social media (Facebook) account. But none have been so well presented as this story I found (through Pauline Randall / Florizal Media) this morning. While it’s a fictitious resignation letter, the contents could quite easily be real?

I hereby (fictionally) resign

This time it’s written superbly from the perspective of the employer who is (reluctantly) asking to view potential the Facebook account of  those people he’s interviewing for a position. Why are they doing this … they “have the obligation to do a ‘background check’ on prospective hires.”

Example 1: When viewing a lady’s profile she starts, he thinks, taking notes. When he asks her about it she say she’s emailing a human rights lawyer she knows (!). When she expands on this she explains that he will obviously now know about her sexual orientation, and that she is

“just preparing myself for the possibility that you might refuse to hire me and instead hire someone who is a heterosexual but less qualified in any way. Likewise, if you do hire me, I might need to have your employment contracts disclosed to ensure you aren’t paying me less than any male and/or heterosexual colleagues with equivalent responsibilities and experience”.”

Example 2: While interviewing a man, and viewing his Facebook account, the man says that his partner is expecting a baby he’ll be taking the 6 months paternity leave allowed under local law. When the interviewer says he shouldn’t have told him, the man replied that

“since you’re looking through my Facebook, you know that already. Now of course, you would never refuse to hire someone because they plan to exercise their legal right to parental leave, would you?”

Previous stories like this have centred around the individual not wanting to release their Facebook account, and therefore run the risk of not being considered for the job because of this (see Can your boss ask for access to your social media accounts?) this is excellent as here are examples of the individuals being open and honest, that they know their rights, and are willing to exercise them. Do you?

However, as the post continues (in the case of the examples above) the company now runs the risk of hiring someone who is not suited to the role or the company because of the result of the information they gained from accessing (with consent) Facebook accounts.

Here are some more stories about employers, employees, and that request to access their Facebook accounts:

What do you think? Would you be brave enough to say ‘no’ if it meant you didn’t get the job?

Where is this going to end … will students be asked to relinquish their account details too as part of the application process to University, or when they join clubs and societies? Can students ask for their tutors to show their Facebook accounts so they can be see what the tutors are writing about them online (public or not)?

Update: April 11th, 2012

The following article on the Mashable website highlights some effective responses of how to “protect yourself in a job interview. Don’t forget: You have the right to a personal life and your privacy!” (… depending no how brave and confident you are of your position?)

  • “I am very careful with my personal, private online persona and do not feel comfortable giving out any passwords. But you can feel free to look at my profile as it appears to you as a company right now, if you would like.”
  • “I would never participate in social media on the organization’s time and ask that the organization will respect my personal social media rights outside of work.”
  • “Is that something that is required to move forward with this job interview?”