Iv just created a group on facebook for the employees of the company i work for- can i get in trouble for this

it does say in the title of the group that its NOT an official group and its a way for the employees from different branches to stay in touch. but im worried if it gets back to the 'powers that be' i could into trouble for it as its does say im in control of the group. theres no damaging images or text in there against the company!
Thanks x

This is a whole new area of employment law and there aren't a lot of precedents established yet. You have done a couple of smart things to protect yourself:

-posted a disclaimer that this is not an "official" site
-not posted any damaging info about the company

Some companies have policies which prohibit employees from posting any company info, logos, etc., on social networking sites, so I'd also encourage you to check witht he "powers that be" about your company policies on this topic.

Finally, I'd encourage you to carefully monitor what is posted and pull down anything that might cast the company in a negative light. Remember that on a public site, not only can employees see what is posted, but so can customers, suppliers, employees' families, etc. Those cute pix from the company party of so-and-so who got really wasted might not have the same appeal to a customer who wonders if this is what their $$ pay for, or to a wife who wonders why hubby has his arms around Susie from Accounting.

Good luck.

No you cant. if you want to socialise with other from your company, that is your choice. As long as you make sure you never claim to 'be the company' or a higher ranking person in the company, you are fine

theres no damaging images or text as yet, i would be careful, what happens when someone has a grudge against the company and posts it on facebook ??? as you say you are in control !

I would be very wary about doing this. Even though you are not officially representing the company, you are still representing the company. And it's without their consent. I don't know if your company would want this type of free advertisement. Facebook is a social site... you never know what certain people will have on their individual pages.

In the end, I would have to say that it depends on the type of company that you work for. Some places would be more open to this than others. A good way to test what you should do, is imagine asking the owner of the company what you just posted. Do you think he or she would approve of this? My first instinct is no, regardless of the type of company. If it's a risk you are willing to take, that is obviously your choice. But I think you know that it's a potentially sticky situation, and that's why you posted the question in the first place.

My personal advice is to change the name of the group to something that doesn't name your company. Then it's nobody's business. Good Luck! =)

Very grey !

Technically probably not, provided you don't do anything on it during the firms time and respect the name....BUT I wouldn't.

I know that employers regulary look at sites like facebook for just this kind of thing. (universities too)

Anything THEY don't like (like pictures of people drunk or doing silly things... on their own time or not) will be regarded as reflecting badly on the company, they won't be happy and guess who will get into hot water..... you !

The fact that in your opinion (and maybe 99% of everyones elses) it is just harmless fun won't matter one little bit.

As the previous contributor said... do youself a favour and set it up without any reference to the company. If it's a good group , word of mouth will spread the word.