monitoring and internet policies

What is monitoring at work? more...
How should my employer approach monitoring at work? more...
Am I being monitored without my knowledge? more...
Do I need to give consent for my employer to monitor me at work? more...
What counts as personal information for the purposes of monitoring at work? more...
Do I have a right to know what information my employer has collected through monitoring me at work? more...
I'm concerned about email and Web usage monitoring at my workplace. What should I do? more...
How do I know if my emails are being monitored? more...
Can my employer ban me from sending any non-work emails? more...
What should be in a good electronic communications policy? more...
My employer wants to discipline me for forwarding inappropriate e-mails, or for viewing unacceptable material on the Web. What should I do? more...
Is my boss allowed to listen to my voicemail or open my email whilst I’m away from work? more...
Can my employer conduct covert monitoring where I work? more...
Can my employer place covert cameras or microphones in private areas? more...
Is my employer allowed to monitor my vehicle? more...

further information

Everyone has the right to a private life, even when at work. But privacy at work is becoming more of an issue every day. New technology allows employers to collect substantial information about their staff, whilst surveillance techniques in the workplace are becoming increasingly sophisticated and intrusive. Snooping on workers is now technically very easy.

In law, your right to privacy at work is protected mainly by the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998. This section of workSMART helps you to find out where you stand.

The Information Commissioner's Office is the government agency responsible for privacy and data protection. You can find their web site at: www.dataprotection.gov.uk

You may also find our section on data protection issues useful.

Download our Know Your Rights leaflet on privacy at work as a pdf file

(you will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file, click here for free downloads of this software)