
Eighty-four per cent of employers regularly spy on their employees' communications.
Published: 4 April 2001 17:01 GMT
But according to the latest survey from law firm Allen & Overy, only two-thirds of firms have any kind of data privacy policy, meaning that a significant percentage of companies are breaking the law.
While employers have on the whole reacted well to new legislation requiring them to inform employees if their emails are monitored, there is still a huge amount of monitoring that goes on unknown to the worker. Under the RIP Act, which came into effect last October, this activity is illegal.
Codes of practice from the Data Protection Commissioner state that opening workers' personal emails is wrong, whether or not you have their permission. The newly instituted Human Rights Act also legally protects staff privacy.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) reacted with dismay to the survey. It said in a statement: "The notion of management having a free hand to spy indiscriminately on workers' email is unreasonable, intrusive and unacceptable."
The survey also found that employers infringed rights to privacy with intrusive research of job applicants and prospective employees.
European law - experience of the European Union Payments Directive You must have excellent communication skills on all levels as you will be ...
By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk Recruitment Limited and acts as an ...
Applicants coming from audit, accountancy or IT service firms may therefore be preferable. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy ...
Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.
Data Protection Strategies: Deduplication for More Efficient Backups
Dell PowerVault DL2100 Powered by CommVault - Spec Sheet
True Convergence Demands a Communication Service Provider that Embraces a Customer-Centric...
Learn how Performance Metrics for Telcomm Expense Management Drive new ROIs and SLAs
Stories from the web...
Copyright © 2008 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved. Top of page
Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Can I become faster and smarter? We could all use a little more help from our machines
Mark Crichard Doing business with citizen developers: Beware the legal pitfalls Legal Eye: Make sure your business is protected from potential hazards