Pictured above: Justine Vaughan, Founder and Director of Triangle HR

A Shropshire-based human resources consultancy is reminding local businesses about the importance of having robust staff IT policies in place.

With the internet, email and even social bookmarking websites such as Facebook and Twitter becoming an increasingly important tool for many jobs, Triangle HR is urging employers to make sure they are properly protected to deal with any cases of abuse or unprofessionalism from their staff.

"I know from personal experience how the full utilisation of computers and IT can bring about enormous benefits to businesses in terms of convenience and efficiency," said Justine Vaughan, Founder and Director of Triangle HR. "But it can also open up a legal minefield for those employers who haven't got up-to-date policies in place."

"There are so many issues that need carefully considering now, from fairly low level incidents like staff checking their friends' Facebook pages when they should be working, through to more serious misconduct such as misusing confidential company information and downloading illegal or offensive content. Unfortunately, work-based social media, internet and email policies cannot be enforced retrospectively, so employers must be proactive and have these mechanisms in place, as well as ensuring employees are aware of the rules and agree to abide by them," she added.

"And whilst many employers these days place a degree of trust in their staff and allow some personal internet and email use in the office, it is essential that staff understand the potential consequences - and subsequent disciplinary processes - they will face if they were to abuse this privilege."

Triangle HR offers a full consultancy service covering every area of employment and provides a professional, cost-effective solution for businesses across the region. For further information please call 01743 453170, 07801 500462, visit www.trianglehr.co.uk or email Justine on justine@trianglehr.co.uk.