BOSSES who issue their staff with mobile phones could be risking legal action if they fail to draw up policies for their use.

York commercial lawyers, Denison Till, are warning anyone who sends a defamatory text message that they could be landing their employer in hot water.

The company is recommending that, in future, all managers ensure that staff cell phones are issued with clear guidelines.

Denison Till employment department partner Brian Harrington said: "The misuse of text messaging to send a defamatory remark to a third party - even if it is the correct recipient - could provoke a potentially costly libel action in which the employer could be implicated, even if they were totally unaware of the message.

"Employers can minimise any potential damage if they can demonstrate that they have put in place a proper business policy over use of mobile phones to go alongside those for email and Internet use and I would urge those who may be liable to do so soon."

Mr Harrington said, because text messages are saved on servers, any defamatory comment is likely to be regarded as a publication which meets the criteria for a libel claim.

If legal action was taken as a result of a defamatory message, the employer could be vicariously liable for their employees' action at work and the author of the message could also be liable.

Mr Harrington said: "Employers may believe this is unlikely to happen but this sort of litigation is becoming far more prevalent."