Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm with over 100 million downloads to date.
But Google ‘Pokemon accidents’ and you’ll quickly see that this popular augmented reality game is no laughing matter for employers.
It seems plenty of people have injured themselves – and some have even died – while being completely engrossed in the game and paying little attention to their surroundings.
For employers – who after all are vicariously liable for their employees – the risks are far greater than they may first appear:
• A company car could be damaged while an employee hunts Pokemon between meetings
• A worker could lodge a workers’ compensation claim when they trip over in the car park capturing a Pikachu (that’s one of the 722 known types of Pokemon)
• Your entire IT system could be compromised by a worker connecting to the game
• Hundreds of hours of paid working time could be lost while employees lose themselves in the game instead of their (now overdue) work
The obvious questions employers need to ask include:
For employers – who after all are vicariously liable for their employees – the risks are far greater than they may first appear:
• Do you have good position descriptions and policies in place to make it clear to employees what is expected of them? (eg. Motor Vehicle Policy, Mobile Phone Policy, etc)
• Do you have good HR processes and compliance tools in place to manage problems when things go wrong?
• Do you have access to urgent advice from HR experts to manage tricky situations when they arise?
• Do you have good Workplace Health & Safety systems and processes in place?
• Do you have good HR systems and processes in place to manage performance issues?
• Do you have good HR systems in place to meet your record keeping obligations?
• Do you have good HR systems in place to ensure all compulsory National Employment Standards are met?
I really wish I could write more, but I’ve just spotted an elusive Jigglypuff hiding in the copy room.
If you need help with HR and compliance? Contact Better HR
 |
