Monitoring Employee Emails

If you run a business you may be concerned about the extent to which you can legally monitor employees. Perhaps you want to check their emails or listen to telephone calls. In a recent case before the European Court of Human Rights, the court held that the UK Government must pay £3,000 damages and legal costs to Lynette Copland whose emails, phone calls and web use had been monitored, by her employers at CarmarthenshireCollege, without her knowing.

Andrew Bryan says “This was the material fact – that she had not been told that her emails might be read. Most employers do tell employees and/or have a web use policy which tells them so, and so would be unaffected by this decision. Here it was held that her rights had been breached under the European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 - that "everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence". The college had no policy in place at the time informing employees that their communications might be monitored.

The law in the UK is contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which allows interception if employees are told, for most purposes, and the Data Protection Act 1998 under which there is a code of practice for employers. This covers surveillance of employees too. These apply in addition to a general right of privacy under the Convention mentioned above. Most employers would be wise to take some legal advice to ensure their current email policies and staff handbook are fully up to date and best protect them against this kind of claim.

Call Andrew on 023 9221 0170 for further information.