What am I allowed to say about a company on the Internet without getting sued

Hi all,

Recently I was involved in a recruitment process with a company who are currently hiring for IT roles in Gdansk. To cut a very long story short, I got my fingers very badly burnt by this company and I wanted to warn would-be job seekers to be very wary if they apply for jobs with this outfit.

But I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say on the internet without getting sued.

Is anyone an expert in such matters?

I'd just like to prevent someone else going through what I did at the hands of these people.

Basically - according to Polish law - you are free to publicly say the true (otherwise known as FACTS). Any comments from your side may lead you on the "dark side".

Please note -if your contract with the company forbids you talk about the company, you may be sued on the grounds of civil liability even if you say the truth.

Thanks for the quick response.

In fact just now I was thinking about it and I'm in two minds whether to say much more. On the one hand, the way this company treated me was shocking (everyone I told couldn't believe it) and I'd hate to see someone else go through the same thing I did (and of course I wouldn't be unhappy if they got their comeupance) but on the other hand I wonder if anything I say on an internet forum will actually make any difference in the end and maybe I'll just make more trouble for myself.

It's a tricky one!

By the way, I never signed a contract with the company - I had a contract, but they told me there were problems getting it translated into Polish...but on reflection I think that they were just stalling for time when they told me this.

Unless he's no longer employed by this company of course. You can't derive any claims or rights from a broken contract.


In that case, feel free to speak your mind.

:)

can we all just DM you and then tell us?
that way you're not making it public

And then if someone you tell tells the rest of the forum then sure, it coula been anyone that told him

ah you know the more I think about it the more I don't think it's a good idea to say anything. I just have a feeling I'll stir up a whole heap of trouble. I wouldn't put anything past these people after what they did to me. There's no bloody justice in the world is there?! This should be an easy decision and yet here I am debating the pros and cons with myself! Well I'm going to sleep on it I think.

Thanks for the encouragement to bear my soul though! :-)

Smurf, I like your logic! I had thought about that myself...right definitely off to bed now...I'll check back in tomorrow! G'night all!

Unless it was a senior role in a large corporation, I highly doubt anyone will care.

In the USA a number of people have been sued for comments they made online.

Reasons for this, experts say, include:

Attorneys can’t sue Internet companies — who have the deep pockets — for what individual users say because of protection from the federal Communications Decency Act.

A blurring between fact and fiction continues unabated on Internet sites.
Many states have no laws to address the endless ways people fabricate information.
Many online postings are never seen in the first place. Unlike permanent comments in newspapers, postings can slide past without being noticed — but whether they ever disappear from databases remains in dispute.

Online postings, depending on how they’re delivered, can have narrow audiences.
Ordinary folks are held to the same legal standards as news reporters and anyone else who makes written statements in public, but few seem to know that — or care.”

It’s almost as if the internet is a mask for many to use as a shield or a way to hide after spewing written words – a way to defy consequences.

As Marketing Maverick Caroline Melberg says, “If you wouldn’t be willing to put your statement on the front page of the New York Times with your name on it, don’t post it online.” In other words, posting online is releasing a statement publicly.

You can say what you want, unless you signed some kind of 'non-disclosure' agreement, which is usually not done unless you already on the payroll...Tear 'em up!

Oh just shoot what you have experienced. Its a forum, you are an anonymous. Just tell the whole story having your company as "company X" and your accused as "Mr. A or Ms. B".

It will be interesting to read...

I doubt hes coming back the post is almost a year old in any case he obviously chickened out after making a big deal out of it.

Heres what happened anyway, they offered him a job and a contract, he took both and upped and left the UK for Gdansk, upon arrival they bullshitted him with all kinds of story's before basically getting out of the contract on a technicality. The truth is they had sourced somebody else for less.

Your story seems unlikely.
If you cause a business some kind of damage, cost them money or break an agreement you may get sued. Without knowing the specifics it’s hard to say what you're talking about.

As a side note: get comprehensive general liability insurance. It won’t prevent you from being sued but it will help you to pay for the cost of a lawyer if you do get sued. Of course if you're getting sued now it's too late. What did you do wrong? You're anonymous here, lay it out.