"Following an investigation, DVLA has dismissed 14 members of
staff for gross misconduct," said a statement from the
Swansea-based organisation.
"The staff concerned were found to have used the Agency's
electronic systems to send pornographic email attachments out of
the Agency, in direct contravention of DVLA's code of conduct," it
said.
A further 101 workers at the office were disciplined but
not sacked.
"In addition, 101 staff were disciplined but not dismissed. The
reason that some people were dismissed and some only reprimanded
was because of the images themselves. All of the staff had sent
images externally, but it was the nature of the images they sent
that influenced the penalties that were applied," said the DVLA
statement.
The staff who received a formal reprimand have been banned from
promotion for two years, said the DVLA.
Local press also reports that the problem had at one point
become so acute that the email system itself slowed down.
It is the second time the DVLA has been hit by such controversy.
A woman was dismissed last year for sending a sexually explicit
video clip involving herself via her mobile phone.
Controlling employee use of facilities is becoming an increasing
problem for employers. "The sending of pornographic materials by
email and the misuse of internet and email facilities in general
have been problems for many employers for a number of years," said
Ben Doherty, an employment lawyer with Pinsent Masons, the law firm
behind OUT-LAW. "Due to the potential consequences of being seen to
tolerate or encourage such behaviour most employers take a hard
line approach."
The best way to ensure that consistent remedies can be taken is
to make an explicit policy, said Doherty. "Employers who provide
internet and email facilities to their employees should have
written policies clearly setting out what is appropriate use of
those facilities and highlighting the consequences of inappropriate
use," he said.
