Almost half of UK firms have taken disciplinary action against employees because of internet misuse in the past year, a recent study has found. However, firms must ensure correct procedure has been followed before taking such steps, legal experts warned.

Of the firms that had disciplined staff, 31 percent had dealt with two to five cases in the past year, while 21 percent had dealt with only one case, according to a survey carried out by IRS Employment Review.

To reduce the likelihood of problems arising in the first place, most firms had an internet and email usage policy in place. All respondents said staff were banned from accessing pornographic web sites, and more than nine out of 10 firms prohibited the sending of obscene emails.

Other restricted activities at the 63 public and private sector organisations surveyed included online shopping and internet gambling, banned in a third and two thirds of organisations respectively.

Less than two thirds of firms said that they offered internet access to all employees, and the remaining companies said they restricted access to certain groups.

However, while most firms had usage policies, they were not always thorough in ensuring that employees were aware of these guidelines. Only 28 percent insisted on their employees participating in training on email use, while a further 28 percent encouraged such involvement.

Yvonne Atherton, a solicitor at law firm Last Cawthra Feather, said organisations should implement usage policies, and should follow clearly defined disciplinary procedures to protect themselves from legal action. She said any policy should be supported by monitoring and applied consistently. And monitoring should take place with the consent of staff, she added.

Prohibited activities should take into account employees' business requirements, said Atherton. "Restricting access to external web sites could be a solution," she said. "But [this] may impede the employee's ability to carry out their duties effectively."

The result of a recent email harassment case highlighted the potential threat to companies. This August, a firm of financial advisers agreed to pay £10,000 to a former employee in an out-of-court settlement of a sexual harassment claim.

The employee had accused the company of failing to take her complaint seriously when she reported that obscene emails about her had been circulated by other employees within the firm.