Since the pandemic, how we communicate at work has changed significantly. As remote working is now embedded in many organisations, WhatsApp groups have become a platform for quick and informal communication for employees. WhatsApp’s international presence (with over 3 billion monthly users) has made it a popular choice for both business-related and social-related communications between colleagues.
However, the rise of work-related WhatsApp groups brings with it a complicated set of challenges. It blurs the line between personal and professional conversations, and the lack of oversight can lead to privacy risks and management blind spots, creating risks for employers.
This article explores the challenges of using WhatsApp in the workplace and offers practical advice for employers seeking to balance its benefits and challenges.
Why is it so Important for Employers to Monitor WhatsApp Groups?
Bullying and Harassment
WhatsApp’s informal nature fosters an atmosphere where employees feel comfortable to behave in ways they would not in a more formal setting. This creates an increased risk of offensive comments and ‘banter.’ Omitting employees from groups, even if unintentionally, can leave employees feeling excluded and targeted. A tribunal ordered compensation of over £100,000 in 2023 after an employee claimed he was victimised and discriminated against when he was deliberately excluded from a WhatsApp group set up by his employer. The large compensation award highlights the significant risks for employers who fail to properly manage workplace communication, even on informal apps. For further information on how to deal with bullying and harassment, see our article on Bullying at Work – how should employers handle allegations of bullying?
Confidentiality
Despite its end‑to‑end encryption, WhatsApp presents significant legal, security, and operational risks. Once a message reaches the recipient, the platform offers no meaningful controls, auditability, or mechanisms to support GDPR‑compliant data governance. Messages, screenshots, and files can be easily forwarded or copied without the sender’s knowledge, making it difficult to maintain control over confidential or personal data. Relying on a consumer‑grade messaging platform for business purposes exposes organisations to a range of confidentiality and security risks, including:
- Uncontrolled data sharing
- Lack of a structured audit trail
- Potential GDPR breaches
- The loss or compromising of a device containing confidential business information
- Storage of data in unencrypted and uncontrolled third-party cloud services
- Lack of centralised document management, archiving and deletion
- Loss of institutional knowledge when employees leave, taking WhatsApp conversations and shared files with them
Employee Liability and Disclosure
WhatsApp messages can be legally disclosable as part of a Data Subject Access Request, a Freedom of Information request and in Employment Tribunal proceedings (including against named individuals). The Independent reported in 2024 that the number of UK Employment Tribunal cases citing WhatsApp messages rose from 48 in 2019 to 562 in 2024, an almost twelve‑fold increase. This trend makes it critical for employers to ensure staff are thoroughly trained on the use and risks arising from informal digital communication.
In the case of Donaldson v Aberdeen City Council (2025) an employee was dismissed for gross misconduct after sending offensive and pornographic content into a work WhatsApp group. Despite the employee claiming it was harmless ‘banter’, the tribunal upheld the dismissal, as the messages were sent during working hours, and fell below their behavioural standards. This demonstrates that employers may rely on WhatsApp messages when assessing misconduct. It highlights the importance of clear guidance and training so employees recognise that digital messages, even on informal platforms like WhatsApp, can carry serious consequences.
Employer Liability
In addition to being liable for their own actions, employers can be vicariously liable for their employees’ inappropriate use of a work WhatsApp group. Employees feel more comfortable communicating on WhatsApp than on formal platforms such as Teams, increasing the risk of comments that are discriminatory, derogatory, harassing, or relating to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. If such conduct is found to have taken place during the course of their employment, the employer could face legal consequences and be required to compensate affected employees.
Employers should also refrain from contacting staff outside of contracted working hours, due to the potential for claims under the Working Time Regulations 1998, National Minimum Wage legislation, or claims linked to work‑related stress. The risk of such claims underlines the need for clear boundaries around work-related WhatsApp groups.
How can Employers Create a Successful and Appropriate WhatsApp Group?
Despite the risks outlined above, banning WhatsApp groups altogether is likely to be viewed as disproportionate and unnecessarily oppressive. Attempts to prevent employees from communicating with one another on WhatsApp would be virtually impossible to enforce and could harm working relationships. Employers who are anxious about the use of WhatsApp at work should consider creating a group solely as an emergency channel, to be used only in situations where other communications fail, ensuring that staff can still be reached efficiently.
A more balanced and constructive approach is to manage the risks of WhatsApp groups through setting clear expectations and sensible safeguards such as:
Appoint Trained Group Administrators
Appoint one or two administrators to establish and supervise the group. Ideally, they should be trained managers who understand the conduct standards. While administrators are not expected to be active moderators, their presence demonstrates that communication within the group is subject to the same expectations that apply in the office and formal platforms such as Teams or Outlook.
Ensure Inclusive Membership
As a general rule, the entire team, including managers, should be added to avoid any perception of exclusion. The only exception could be where there is a legitimate reason for a separate group, such as, a managers‑only group for operational decision‑making. In such circumstances, all managers within the relevant team or level should be included to ensure fairness and transparency.
Define Purpose and Set Clear Expectations
Define the purpose of the WhatsApp group clearly from the outset: is it intended for operational updates, shift coordination, urgent notifications or something else? Employers should make it clear that social conversation is not appropriate where a group is intended to be business‑focused. Keeping communication work‑related maintains professionalism and prevents individuals from feeling uncomfortable or excluded.
Social Media Policy
Consider updating your social media policy to include a specific WhatsApp group policy. This should set out behavioural expectations and the potential consequences of misuse.
The policy should ensure employees are aware that work-related WhatsApp groups may be subject to monitoring, and that unacceptable conduct can lead to serious disciplinary action. Setting these expectations from the outset helps protect both the organisation and its employees, by reinforcing the principle that professional standards apply across all forms of workplace communication.
Workplace Training
Provide regular training sessions to ensure staff understand the organisation’s social media and WhatsApp policies. Employees should be advised to never post anything in a WhatsApp group that they would not be comfortable with their manager reading, helping set clear expectations and reduce the risk of inappropriate messages.
Additional training should be given to group administrators so they can recognise and address inappropriate content, understand what must be reported or removed, and confidently enforce acceptable‑use standards to maintain a safe and respectful environment.
User Agreement
Employers may wish to require employees to sign a written consent form agreeing to the WhatsApp group policy. This should clearly state the rules and expected standards of behaviour when using work-related WhatsApp groups, so staff understand their responsibilities.
This formal agreement clarifies the risks of misuse and reinforces that professional standards apply on all platforms. It reduces risks of disputes and strengthens the employer’s position should any disciplinary process arise, by showing that expectations were clearly communicated and acknowledged.
What can Employers do About Problematic WhatsApp Groups?
If you are made aware that some kind of inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour has taken place within a WhatsApp group, you will need to understand first whether the group is being used for work or social purposes. This distinction shapes what level of oversight is reasonable. Work‑related groups justify clearer rules and higher expectations of professional conduct. Social groups sit closer to employees’ private lives, so any intervention should be proportionate and focused on setting boundaries rather than monitoring. Understanding the group’s purpose ensures a proportionate response: structured oversight for work‑related groups and a lighter‑touch, conduct‑focused approach for social ones.
Any action taken around the alleged misconduct must be fair and lawful. You will need to make sure you follow a proper disciplinary process, including an internal investigation, before deciding whether formal action is justified. If the alleged misconduct or comments have been made outside of a business WhatsApp group and/or outside working hours, particular care will be needed around your scope to act.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s widespread use in both personal and professional settings is unlikely to diminish; if anything, its influence will continue to grow. Rather than attempting to restrict or resist its use, employers are better served by recognising its value as a communication tool and proactively managing it in a way that minimises organisational risk. By establishing clear, open, and transparent guidelines for acceptable use of WhatsApp groups, employers can reduce the likelihood of bullying, harassment, or other conduct that may give rise to liability. Ultimately, the goal is to harness the benefits of WhatsApp groups while ensuring that employees’ rights, dignity, and wellbeing remain fully protected.
If you would like to introduce or update a policy in your Staff Handbook or if you need any support in relation to disciplinary issues arising out of the use of WhatsApp groups, our Employment Team can support you. Further information is available here. Our Data Protection Team are also available to advise in relation to any data security concerns which may arise; you can find details of the team here.