What will the Civil Serf civil servant blog fallout be?
The blogger Civil Serf first mentioned (to my knowledge) by Dizzy a couple of weeks ago is - according to Ellee Seymour - to be covered on Newsnight this evening. I got this via Twitter:
More than 800 hits today thanks to civil servant post, the story is on newsnight tonight, michael crick has tried to find her.
(That’s one thing it’s for, Mr Devil.)
If you’ve been incommunicado for the last 36 hours, Ellee said yesterday:
A civil servant who wrote an unflinching blog where she described her working life, the incompetences and inadequacies she regularly encountered, could now be in very hot water for publishing her views.
The Civil Serf blog now seems to have been removed after it was highlighted in today’s Sunday Times, with the headline: “Hunt is on for demon blogger of Whitehall,” while the Sunday Telegraph reported: “Blogger lifts lid on Whitehall failings”.
Her blog is easy enough to find, and the Times even has a link to it. But the site shows an error message saying the page does not exist. It’s obviously been pulled.
Ellee’s article includes some quotes. It is snarky and - in my view - must surely be too close to the bone not to be a breach of contract.
I stand by the comments I made on Ellee’s post on Sunday (edited slightly):
I gave her six months when I first saw it.
I think that civil servants cannot write critical blogs without being in violation of their contract (conduct bringing employer info disrepute etc.). If they do so, they must be bulletproof in their anonymity.
Pulled on a Sunday implies that she may have pulled it herself.
It is a dangerous game to play - especially in the political niche.
It’s always a tricky one - if you plan to avoid work in your writing they could still say no if you ask.
I have to decide whether to blog about clients, and it somethgin I have thought quite carefully about, and I still don’t know if I got the balance right.
(Note: my policy is not to blog about current employers, and never to break a contract or confidentiality agreement - criminal activity notwithstanding).
At this point it looks as though Civil Serf pulled her own blog, so she may get away with it.
Tags: civil serf, anonymous blogging, dooced, blog about employer[tags]civil serf, anonymous blogging, dooced, blog about employer[/tags]
Article Series - Civil Serf Blog Vanishes
- What will the Civil Serf civil servant blog fallout be?
- How to Blog about your employer: let me count the ways: Civil Serf
- Short Interview with Petite Anglaise :Civil Serf
- A New Code of Conduct for Civil Servant Bloggers: Civil Serf
- Civil Service blog code: Existing Civil Service Code will suffice: Civil Serf
- Civil Serf Blogger Code of Conduct: I have the solution
[...] I’m a little late jumping on this particular bandwagon. There are dozens of ‘my take on civil serf‘ posts out there already, but I might as well add my [...]
Civil Serfs observations are plainly in the public interest, since what she reports on has no bearing whatsoever on national security whilst revealing the misuse and waste of taxpayer’s money. More please. I don’t believe any court action against her could succeed.
Her job should be safe too, since the public interest plainly overrides any contractual tie downs that prevent the public interest from being served. Then too, there is the matter of proper intent in her armoury.
More brave bloggers please.
Thanks for the comment, will.
I’m holding my peace on your point - as I know far more about contract law than I do about the “public interest” defence.
Matt