A journalist at HR Grapevine is looking for comments from HR and employment experts regarding the Gary Lineker BBC controversy. The BBC's decision to reinstate Lineker comes after colleagues walked out en-masse in solidarity with Lineker and left bosses somewhat red-faced. He is keen to hear any HR-centric comments about what the whole situation says about employee power, and what HR leaders should be doing if employees decide to revolt in support of a co-worker.&nbsp;The journalist would also like comments about the issue of social media policies in the workplace. &nbsp; &nbsp;

HR ramifications of the Gary Lineker BBC controversy

As a consultant psychologist with senior leadership experience and working in the Diversity Equity and Inclusion space, I think the recent action by Gary Lineker can only be a good thing. I only wish more employees would be brave enough to show such "allyship" and walk out in support of their peers who are experiencing discrimination and racism. The action at the BBC shows what a privilege it is to have such power and to be able to use it to influence those at the top.  HR colleagues should embrace this and consider how such actions can enrich open and transparent communication where the voices of all employees are heard. This is good for transforming organisational culture and should be embraced and not feared if the organisation is functioning ethically and openly. Social media policies need to be reviewed to embrace current times.

Dr Shungu Hilda M'gadzah

Dr Shungu Hilda M’gadzah is a Chartered Educational Psychologist, consultant psychologist, author, executive coach and founder of the Six Stages Framework (SSF), with more than 30 years’ experience across psychology, education, leadership and inclusion. Her work focuses on human behaviour, particularly how individuals, groups and systems respond to difference, discomfort, bias, belonging and social change. She provides expert psychological insight on racism and bias, psychological safety, education, SEND, neurodiversity, leadership, emotional intelligence, escalation and extremism. She is Director and Lead Consultant Psychologist at Inclusion Psychologists Ltd and also works as an expert witness in SEND and clinical negligence. Dr M’gadzah holds a Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology, with doctoral research in Emotional Intelligence. She is a former Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology and was the first Black person to hold that role. Her work includes books, articles, podcasts and practical psychological resources designed to support reflection, inclusion and meaningful change.

Social media policies can be tricky as people don’t always maintain a professional standard when sharing with friends and family, but the public nature of social media makes it easy to link your employees to your business. The risks can be both legal and reputational.  In terms of avoiding legal liability for an employee's post, the court will look at whether the post was made in the course of employment. Here, you can use your policies to limit the risk, for example by stipulating whether staff may or may not post in working hours or using company equipment, and or add colleagues to personal accounts. While employers will be keen to avoid a crisis like the BBC is experiencing, focusing too much on reputation can be counterproductive. Being focused on the short term may leave you playing whack-a-mole with crises. When facing a dispute, i

Ian Jones

Ian is the founder of Spencer Shaw Solicitors. He qualified as a solicitor in 1991 having studied at the Chelmer Institute and the Chester College of Law.  Ian had experience as a Partner and Head of Employment Law and Litigation with larger firms before setting up Spencer Shaw in 2007. 
 
He set up Spencer Shaw as he felt most solicitors at the time weren’t communicating in a way that suited the client. He wanted to make the process simple for clients, offering swift service and clear advice. Now that the practice has grown, Ian has oversight of all of our cases, offering support to our Consultant and Associate Solicitors. He also takes the lead on some complex cases. 
 
Ian has experience in all aspects of employment law and has a particular interest in unfair dismissal cases, disputes involving alleged breaches of restrictive covenants and negotiating settlements. Ian appears regularly in the Employment Tribunal. His experience includes taking claims on appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. 

HR ramifications of the Gary Lineker BBC controversy

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Dr Shungu Hilda M'gadzah

Consultant Psychologist at Inclusion Psychologists Limited

Ian Jones

Director and Principal Solicitor at Spencer Shaw Solicitors

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