Kiwi bosses don't ask for Facebook passwords - EMA
Concerns over employers asking job applicants for their Facebook login details appear unfounded.
New Zealand employers will Google-search job applicants but asking for Facebook passwords is not the Kiwi way.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff told Parliament's justice and electoral select committee yesterday that anecdotal evidence suggests job applicants will often be asked to give access to their Facebook page.
She said while there is no hard evidence to support the practice happening in New Zealand, it is something she would like the commission to look into.
Employers and Manufacturers Association's employment spokesman David Lowe told NBR ONLINE some employers in the United States have been asking for passwords, mainly because of the extremely tight job market there.
But he says he's never heard of it happening here.
"Frankly, that's just not who we are. I would be surprised if I heard of a New Zealander doing that. It's just not in our culture to go that far.
"We don't think it's right that employees should be put in a position where they feel they need to hand over their passwords and login details.
"That's an invasion of their privacy."
Mr Lowe says while asking for login details is unreasonable, it is all right for an employer to do background searches of a person's social media activity, such as what is available on their publicly accessible pages.
"That is relatively common now. If you are looking to hire someone you will Google their name and see what it throws up.
"It's a good way of adding some colour, but you need to be careful because it's not definitive and you don't get to see everything," he says.
Caleb Allison
Fri, 11 May 2012
Fri, 11 May 2012
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Kiwi bosses don't ask for Facebook passwords - EMA
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