WIRRAL Council has revealed how many of its staff broke rules relating to computer usage and social media – and what punishment was handed to those employees.

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted to Wirral council, there have been seven breaches of the authority’s policy relating to ICT and social media in the past three years.

The local authority revealed that six out of seven of those breaches resulted in a formal or informal sanction under the council’s disciplinary procedure.

Exact details of what caused those breaches is unknown.

A spokesman for the council, which employs around 3,500 staff in total, said: “As well as our social media policy, there is also an employees’ code of conduct which includes a requirement for members of staff to comply with policies adopted by the council for the acceptable use of IT equipment, including computers, social media and the internet.

“The small number of cases where employees may have fallen foul of this requirement have been handled under the council’s disciplinary process as appropriate.”

According to Acas, a company describing itself as a workplace “expert”, employers should make clear to employees what online conduct is acceptable and what isn’t.

Payroll and HR solutions firm Moorepay says employers should judge whether the conduct of an employee affects them doing their work.

If comments can be linked to the employer, it could be seen as bringing it into disrepute, which could also warrant action.