Addressing psychosocial risk of social media in the workplace

Featuring staff on social media

Employers seeking to feature their staff in social media content should keep the following points in mind: Be aware of the legal, and health and safety risks of featuring employees in social media content or filming in the workplace.

Protect confidential information — both about the work environment and sensitive business details. Make sure there is no data visible on computer screens, whiteboards or items like name badges and personal photos in your posts.

Establish clear procedures for obtaining and documenting explicit consent for staff involvement in social media posts through photography and videography consent forms.

Ensure your company policies are updated to include reasonable expectations about requirements for staff to participate and feature in social media content associated with their roles. 

Clearly define your expectations of an employee in their role. If you are seeking to feature employees in social media content, this should be included in their position description and role and responsibilities, where possible.

Can they say no?

If staff members are not aware that creating or appearing in social media content is part of their duties, employers should be prepared that they may say no.

The general rule is that staff are required to follow reasonable and lawful directions from their employer. But is a direction to participate in and be filmed for social media considered lawful and reasonable? Yes, if it meets certain criteria.

It is reasonable for a staff member to decline if this expectation had not been raised with them previously, or documented in policy or their role description.

Employment agreements and position descriptions that contain a broad obligation to “perform such other duties as the employer may reasonably direct from time to time” — of which many do — are likely to support the notion that a request for an employee to be involved in social media is a lawful and reasonable direction.

Reasonableness is assessed based on the specific circumstances of the issue, including the employee’s role, established workplace customs and the terms of relevant instruments like modern awards and enterprise agreements. For example, asking a staff member in your finance department to participate in a TikTok dance for the company’s social media account is unlikely to be considered a reasonable request.

For those whose job responsibilities include creating social media content, such as the marketing team, a request to participate on camera could be seen as reasonable. However, if social media activities fall well outside the scope of their usual responsibilities, the request may be viewed as less reasonable.

It is also important for employers to consider the staff member’s right to privacy and a personal life. They may have personal circumstances that would make appearing on social media unsafe or unwise. This should be respected and accommodated.

This article first appeared under the headline ‘Psychosocial risk of social media in the workplace’ in the March 2025 issue of Company Director magazine. 

Rachel Drew is a partner at Holding Redlich Queensland, specialising in workplace relations and safety. Rose Dimitrious is a Special Counsel, in the workplace relations space, focusing on HR advisory. Maud Beach is a lawyer, focusing on employment law.