August 3, 2001—A recent report by workplacelaw.net said that the UK Information Commissioner, independent supervisory authority dealing with information handling, is developing guidelines for allowing company e-mails to be screened by supervisors. The guidelines are being drafted following the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which made it potentially illegal to intercept such communications.
The draft guidelines say:
- Employers should not monitor the content of e-mail messages unless the traffic record alone and/or subject is insufficient.
- If e-mail monitoring is justified on the basis of detecting computer viruses, employers should use an automated monitoring and detection process. Information obtained should be for the purpose of virus detection only.
- Employees should be made aware if their mailbox is checked in their absence.
- Employers should not open e-mails that are clearly personal.
- Employees should be able to delete e-mails from the system.
- Employers should have a written policy about the use of e-mails.
The Information Commissioner told workplacelaw.net that the final version of the code would be ready by the end of 2001.
For more information, contact the Information Commissioner.
Based on a report from WorkplaceLaw.net
