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Job hunting at work: the rules of disengagement

Looking for another job while already holding a position can be tricky, but if you're clever about it you can minimise disruption
A businesswoman looking over a computer in office on telephone
Covert call: almost a quarter of people admit to having taken a telephone interview while at work. Photograph: Getty Images

Many workers are beginning the new year determined to end it with a new job, but how do you go about finding new employment if you're already in work?

In June 2011 jobs website Monster claimed a staggering 7% of people were spending more than 10 hours a week job hunting at work, with 16% spending more than five hours and 28% spending three hours. Nearly a quarter of people admitted to having taken telephone interviews while at work, and half admitted to updating their CVs during work time.

It is naive to think your employers will have no knowledge of your activities at work. Most will have an internet and social media policy governing what you can and can't do in the office (and sometimes outside work too). And any cursory investigation from the IT department will reveal your online activities during working hours.

This throws open two issues: does the fact you are looking for a new job (or are giving the perception you are looking) allow your employer to discipline you, or even terminate your employment; and does the fact you are job hunting during work time put your job in jeopardy?

The simple answer to the first question is no. You are entitled to look for a new position and you cannot generally be disciplined for doing so. It is certainly not a reason to dismiss you. If your job performance suffers because your attentions are diverted and you no longer have interest in the job, that is a different matter and you could be disciplined on capability grounds. Similarly, you may subsequently find yourself more isolated by your employer if you are working on specific matters and where loyalty to the business is essential.

The one potential fly in the ointment is where you are contravening your employer's social and media policy, as John Flexman, formally of BG group (a major gas exploration firm), found out to his peril. Flexman is presently claiming constructive dismissal after he was forced to resign from the company after being disciplined for uploading his CV on to professional networking site LinkedIn and ticking a box to register an interest in "career opportunities".

BG may well win the case, but only if it can show its social and media policy preventing employees from flagging their job availability on media sites such as LinkedIn was reasonable and not too onerous. That said, there are 8 million British members of LinkedIn and according to a study in 2007 more than half indicate they are interested in career opportunities on their profiles. This will undoubtedly be a developing area of the law.

Taking the second question, you do need to be careful. If you are using work computers in your job search then this personal use will almost certainly be in breach of company policy, and by default this would be to the detriment of the work you should be carrying out. Yes, there are always lunchtimes and after work hours, but while you are using work computers and telephones in your job search at any time, then you are at risk. How lenient your boss will be is clearly going to vary from employer to employer.

You should also carefully manage your relationship with job agencies and time off for interviews. I have seen countless occasions when an individual's CV has carelessly been sent by agencies to land on the desk of that person's own boss.

Many people use the excuse of being ill to take time off to attend job interviews (23% according to the Monster poll), but is your particular "illness" going to be believable when you return to work?

Let's not kid ourselves that some element of job hunting at work will always take place, but be clever about it if you can. You are best off preserving the goodwill of your old employer – for that all important job reference, if nothing else.

Philip Landau is an employment lawyer at Landau Zeffertt Weir

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