The UK information commissioner has set guidelines for
workplace monitoring, such as the interception of worker's e-mail
and telephone messages, recommending that employees must be clearly
informed of the purpose and nature of the
surveillance.
Employers are expected to follow the recommended guidelines
and those who fail to comply could find themselves in court if they
infringe on workers' privacy rights.
The guidelines are not laws and companies could follow different
procedures, assistant commissioner David Smith said.
However, Smith believed that companies would take the
recommendations seriously, adding that the employers already
consider privacy as an important issue.
"We've had a lot of inquiries on this issue because it has a
real impact on individuals," Smith said.
While the codes did not completely rule out covert employee
surveillance, they said that there are few circumstances in which
secretive monitoring is justified.
"Monitoring is a recognised component of the employee
relationship," the guidelines state, however, "monitoring may, to
varying degrees, have an adverse impact on workers".
The full guidelines can be found online on the UK Information
Commissioner site at
www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/dpdoc.nsf
Scarlet Pruitt writes for IDG News Service