By Will Sturgeon, 30 July 2003 12:52
NEWS Employers are being given a helping hand in addressing the emotive and potentially hazardous issue of email monitoring. Law firm Robert Muckle has published a free legal guide for corporate email monitoring in association with email management software company Waterford Technologies. The guide explains to employers what their legal position is, where their responsibilities lie and outlines what they should and shouldn't be doing with email in the workplace - such as the implementation of a clear and comprehensive acceptable usage policy. Companies who breach strict legislation governing the monitoring of email can face substantial penalties and both civil and criminal liability. Gill Hunter, head of the technology and innovation unit at Robert Muckle, said: "If a company director can be proved to have acted recklessly or with connivance then that officer could find themselves personally liable." Ian Davidson, UK country manager at Waterford Technologies, said: "Organisations are now heavily reliant on email communications, yet employers continue to expose themselves to the dangers of having little control over their employees' use of these systems. Corporate email misuse is a legal minefield and at the moment employers are simply confused about where they stand legally." Email misuse within companies is rife and can pose serious problems for the business - from the risk of litigation over inappropriate material being circulated to the threat of company secrets and sensitive information being leaked.
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