South Africans are warned about the potential legal consequences of sending certain WhatsApp messages, including emojis, in the workplace. Labour lawyer Aslam Moolla explains that messages can be used as evidence in disciplinary hearings and courts, and emojis can be misinterpreted, leading to unintended agreements or misunderstandings. He also highlights the risks associated with read receipts and sending harmful messages.
Sending certain WhatsApp messages can land you in trouble with your employer or in jail in South Africa, and Legal Leaders managing director Aslam Moolla says South Africans should also be careful about sending emojis in work-related conversations., Moolla, a labour lawyer, explained that emojis have different meanings. These meanings can vary based on context and per generation or cultural group.
Moolla gave the example of a manager sending a message to a worker requesting they be at work at 07:00 for an urgent meeting. “An argument could be raised by the company or the person who offered you the contract to say; by the fact that you gave a thumbs up, there was what we call ‘a meeting of the minds’,” said Moolla.The blue-tick read-receipt mechanism on WhatsApp also poses potential problems in the workplace.
He explained that a company could screenshot the blue ticks along with the time and submit it as evidence at the CCMA.Possibly jail time for sending these messagesin 2021, outlining three types of harmful messages that are criminal offences in the country.Those that incite violence or damage to propertyMessages that unlawfully contain intimate images.
SOUTH AFRICA WHATSAPP LEGAL CONSEQUENCES EMOTICONS READ RECEIPTS CYBERCRIMES ACT
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