Social media in the workplace

Social media is becoming an ever-increasing presence in the way we communicate. Twitter and Facebook, for example, are not just seen as an after-work activity, but are now being used to communicate during work hours. It is important for children's services employers to ensure their employees know the best way to utilise these platforms that meets the standards of professional regulators like the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

1. Know the standards. As the regulator of 16 health and care professions - including social workers in England - we often receive queries from registrants wanting to ensure the way they use these platforms meets our standards. It is crucial that employers who manage our registrants understand HCPC's views on best practice when online as this will ensure employees are meeting standards and benefiting from their social media use. Our Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics are the standards we set for all the professionals on our register, stating in broad terms our expectations of their behaviour and conduct. These important standards help us make decisions about the character of professionals who apply to our register. We also use them if someone raises a concern about a registrant's practice. For service users such as young people and families, they outline what the public should expect from their health and care professional.