Following last week's launch of Information Commission guidelines on monitoring staff email and internet use, companies have been warned to follow best practices to safeguard themselves from legal action.
Experts said that in light of the new guide, firms should review their policies on email monitoring immediately and ensure that employees are informed if monitoring is taking place. Otherwise firms might fall foul of the Data Protection Act, which could bring heavy fines.
Information commissioner Richard Thomas said the guidelines were less prescriptive than previous drafts: "There is much less 'you must do this, you must not do that'. This is a code of practice and should set out best practices, but not rules."
However, employers' group the CBI said that despite the long wait for definitive guidelines, the final code is still ambiguous.
"The code remains confusing because there is no clear definition of what constitutes monitoring. It is crucial for businesses to know where monitoring ends and unwarranted intrusion begins," commented John Cridland, the deputy director-general of the CBI.
Mike Pullen, data protection lawyer with law firm DLA, said companies would have to be careful to protect employees' rights. "Companies have to get serious about this now," he said. "Employers will have to treat staff inboxes with a lot more caution than they might have in the past. You will not be able to look at anything that you want, but will have to respect your employees' privacy."
Pullen advised companies to review their internal policies, to see how well they comply with the guidelines and keep staff informed if monitoring is taking place. "A lot of companies' internet and email use policies will have to be tightened up and communicated a lot better," he said. "Otherwise companies might end up facing employee tribunals, which may lead to case laws being created."
Jamie Cowper, technology consultant at messaging specialist Mirapoint, agreed with this view. "Companies need to define a clear email policy and communicate it to employees, leaving them in no doubt as to what to expect and what is expected of them," said Cowper.
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