We received an email from one of our ardent readers; a CEO of a Media Agency. Here is an excerpt from the mail;

Question:

Hello Bizngr,
I suspect one of my employees is conducting inappropriate business using his/her work email. I want to know if it's illegal for me to periodically spy on all my employees emails without their consent?

Answer:

Dear xxxxxxxx,
Generally, email accounts provided by an employer are the property of the employer, not the employee. Unless already stipulated, you should review your company’s policy regarding email use and access. Usually, such policies contemplate that the employer may view an employee’s email and state that the employee has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her emails. If your policy contains those concepts, then it is probably permissible to spy or monitor an employee’s work emails. Hope this helps.

What do you think?

http://www.bizngr.com/management-tips/spy-employees-email/

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There are only 3 instances where our organization can have access to employee emails

1: Investigating Suspected Money-Laundering activities
2: Express Permission from Staff
3: Auditor's Request without the knowledge

Express permission would be included in the job contract or offer I should think.

@ tpiah99 and voltron
We are talking about company assigned email addresses and not a situation where one uses one's personal/private mail for official purposes.

Businesses do routinely check employee emails.

There's an electronic part of your contract you sign when taking the job offer which expressly states that.

bizngr:
@ tpiah99 and voltron
We are talking about company assigned email addresses and not a situation where one uses one's personal/private mail for official purposes.

Privacy is always a touchy issue and it must exist in every HR Handbook, Paying your employee does not give you the right to clandestinely access their emails, yes it is for work purposes but it also infringes on workplace privacy.. I think in Government agencies there is a Law protecting personal information and workplace activities of the Employee, i don't know about Private Companies though. in any case the Nigerian Constitution makes provision for Citiziens Privacy in section 37. The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.

No you cannot Spy on your employee unless there is a greater threat to National Security, Fraud or War.

tpiah99:
Businesses do routinely check employee emails.

There's an electronic part of your contract you sign when taking the job offer which expressly states that.

I doubt any organization will expressly put that in a contract - it is not on mine though. i think it is for the DSS

What you do on company time is important to the company.

This isn't about the general spying program or the fantasy part of the constitution, but rather business practices in the internet age.

voltron:


I doubt any organization will expressly put that in a contract - it is not on mine though. i think it is for the DSS

I think its on most contracts.

There's a part that deals with electronic communications.

tpiah99:


I think its on most contracts.

There's a part that deals with electronic communications.

I just did a recheck of my contract and it is clear - there are specific grounds for accessing my emails without my knowledge,any breach of which i can sue for legal damages of which my company will be clearly liable

5.5 Email Access and Disclosure
XYZ may permit the inspection, monitoring, or disclosure of Email content;
1. When required by and consistent with law, XYZ does not automatically comply
with all requests for disclosure, but evaluates all such requests against the precise
provisions of the relevant Privacy Act, other laws concerning disclosure and
privacy, or other applicable law.
2. Policy compliance, at the written request of a Head of Division or Business Unit, or
the ISO, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of the
organization’s policies or statutes have taken place,
3. XYZ may monitor electronic mail:
-For systems maintenance purposes to carry out system
management, problem resolution, maintenance and capacity
planning, to correct addressing problems or for similar reasons
related to performance or availability of the system;
4. For security purposes, to address security issues, including virus
management and authorized surveillance, including tracking
unauthorized access to a system;
5. XYZ may access, with written authorization of the ISO, the content of email s;
6. For administration purposes, to meet time-dependent, critical business or
operational needs or to carry out records management responsibilities; e.g. to
conduct business during;
-A crisis if an employee is absent when information is required;
-A prolonged absence of an employee when information in the user’s email is required;
7. The User will generally be informed at the earliest opportunity if this form of
access is necessary.

tpiah99:
What you do on company time is important to the company.

This isn't about the general spying program or the fantasy part of the constitution, but rather business practices in the internet age.

hmmm what is it about then.. Privacy or Information Security? there is nothing fantasy about both as they are real issues in this age of growng technological advances putting more power into the hands of employees (remember wikileaks)

Our HR has a productivity monitoring strategy in which your combined hours at your desk (time spent on Nairaland and other less-productive internet endeavors) and off it are paired with your KPIs to determine if you are slouching - like i said,it is not an exact science and a company can get into serious legal issues if it can be proven that it is doing anything clearly in breach of the employee's privacy (as Protected by Constitutional Law)

some organizations restrict the scope of what employees can do with technology e.g Internet sites are classified as Productive and Unproductive and blocked or made accessible as needed. Data Loss/Leak Prevention Technologies are implemented to monitor communication chatter and report high-risk communication transfer for treatment

You'll def be called in and get a write-up for that if the leaked info's confidentiality is not very cogent else you're prone to immediate dismissal.

Read the company's 'Privacy Act' under policies & procedures and see for yourself.

Unauthorized Lookrey is crime bro..just minimize or close the window if you're tempted.

I'll def Fire you.

voltron:


hmmm what is it about then.. Privacy or Information Security? there is nothing fantasy about both as they are real issues in this age of growng technological advances putting more power into the hands of employees (remember wikileaks)

Our HR has a productivity monitoring strategy in which your combined hours at your desk (time spent on Nairaland and other less-productive internet endeavors) and off it are paired with your KPIs to determine if you are slouching - like i said,it is not an exact science and a company can get into serious legal issues if it can be proven that it is doing anything clearly in breach of the employee's privacy (as Protected by Constitutional Law)

some organizations restrict the scope of what employees can do with technology e.g Internet sites are classified as Productive and Unproductive and blocked or made accessible as needed. Data Loss/Leak Prevention Technologies are implemented to monitor communication chatter and report high-risk communication transfer for treatment

Exactly.

That is all, don't read any meaning into my comment.