The growing numbers of employers said to be concerned with the impact of social media on their organisations prompted Croner's research. As well as the fifteen percent of UK adult workers who look at the internet once an hour, the online survey found that six percent of workers do this more than three times an hour.

Male employees are the biggest offenders, with nineteen percent stating that they log on at least once per hour compared to ten percent of females. And it is bad news for the capital's businesses, as Londoners are the most likely to surf the net for personal use during the day (42%).

Amy Paxton, Senior Employment Consultant at Croner, says, "The numbers of bosses calling our employment advice lines about social-media use in the workplace has steadily risen noticeably over the last eighteen months. Traditionally, employers have had a knee-jerk reaction to social media, some wanting to dismiss employees for gross misconduct. However, this could result in claims for unfair dismissal."

"Additionally, when faced with such situations, employers may also want to introduce a complete ban on accessing social-media sites. While this is an understandable approach, employers need to consider the potential benefits for their business if employees make positive use of social media."

"It is completely acceptable for employers to limit internet use during times when employees are expected to be working, as it obviously has an impact on productivity. However, access could be offered before or after work, or during official breaks. Whatever an employer chooses, it is important that they have the right policies in place which clearly set out what employees can and can't do."

Croner recommends that a social-media policy should

• provide clear guidance on what is acceptable in terms of use during and outside working hours. There may be some different rules for out-of-hours behaviour, but some obligations (e.g. confidentiality and not making discriminatory comments) will apply equally
• explain the aims of the policy, for example to protect a valuable brand or the business's reputation
• apply to all employees, although different rules may apply depending on their roles within the business
• include a right to monitor employee communications. This potentially raises data- protection issues, so organisations need to ensure that employees are made aware that monitoring may take place and the extent of that monitoring
• be subject to regular review to ensure it is up to date with developing technology and reflects the corporate approach of the organisation
• be monitored and disciplinary action taken, where necessary, to ensure compliance.