I'm in the midst of an argument about a new internet/email policy with our lawyers.
Their suggested policy includes the following:
"employees and students should be aware that there is no legitimate expectation of privacy in their use of the telephone system or the internet and email systems at work."
They go on to say that all telephone calls, emails and internet sessions may be monitored and that emails/voicemails may be accessed when staff are away. They give a list of reasons that monitoring may take place that includes monitoring "performance of staff or students" and "adherence to this and other policies".
I'm very worried about this as it removes any sense of privacy at all from the workplace. I also can't see how it squares with RIP apart from anything else, and the sense that I've got from this list in the past is that there *is* an element of privacy in work-based emails.
Any advice/comments, particularly quoting relevant legislation would be gratefully received, as I'm not a lawyer and am finding it hard to formulate my response in any other terms than those of moral indignation!
Best wishes
Gordon
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