A series of tweets posted several years ago came back to haunt the Government’s Youth Police and Crime Commissioner recently and caused huge embarrassment.

This not only showed a remarkable lack of awareness as to the upset that this series of tweets would cause but was also an example of the longevity of messages in the public domain.

It is a sobering lesson and one that everyone should be aware of, namely what we write in emails or post on social networks can still be used against us in litigation many years later.

This is something which we cover in our email training – emails are a permanent record and even if you delete them from your sent items a copy will exist somewhere which could potentially upset others or embarrass you.

 Some email etiquette tips:

1. Do not send anything in an email that you would not be prepared to say to someone’s face

2. Re-read your emails before you send them

3. Remember that emails are a permanent record

4. An email which you write from your company account has the same legal weight as a letter sent on company letterhead

Read the news story here.