NSW bans snooping on workers’ e-mails

According to The Australian, the states of Victoria and South Australia are understood to be considering similar legislation. The state’s Workplace Surveillance Bill means that employers will be required to notify staff of any monitoring unless they have a court order. The Bill also employers blocking e-mails and Web sites involving industrial relations and union activity. According to e-mail and Web monitoring software company Surf Control, around 30% of employers with more than 100 employees monitor the content of e-mails. Full report in The Australian Read another report in The Age

And, ‘tech snooping’ by employers has also received attention in the UK. The country’s largest union, Amicus, has complained to the data protection watchdog over alleged incidents of unauthorised monitoring and interception of employee’s e-mails at the National Association of Head Teachers. The complaint to the office of the Information Commissioner was made after one Amicus member was suspended and others threatened with disciplinary action. Various UK legislation including The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the Lawful Business Practice Regulations and the Data Protection Act address the interception of e-mails and place restrictions on the way that monitoring may be carried out, reports Out-Law.com. In 2003, Information Commissioner Richard Thomas published a code of practice for the monitoring of employees e-mail and Internet use. According to the code, monitoring should in all but exceptional circumstances only occur when employees are ‘made aware of its nature and extent and the reasons for carrying it out’. Full Out-Law.com report