Most employers will at some time need to monitor, record and read e-mails sent and received by their staff, or check on their employees’’ use of the telephone and internet, or access business correspondence received at work but addressed to a member of staff. There may also be clear cases where covert surveillance either by video camera or private investigators is considered as a means to collect evidence of criminal activity on site. The law in this area is complex and, in some cases, contradictory. Gillian Howard aims to set out the law clearly and give practical guidance, both to employers as to their legal rights, and to employees as to what safeguards to their privacy the law gives them. She provides precedents and useful examples of policies and procedures for monitoring employees at work. Vetting staff before taking them into employment can be equally fraught with legal issues. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires employers to obtain explicit consent from an employee before seeking and using certain sensitive information. This book gives guidance in this difficult area of employment law with practical advice, precedents and policies, and details of legal interpretations of the law by the Courts and Employment Tribunals.
