Work emails and DPA

crispy_chris

Hi there,

I have a question on behalf of my friend who is somewhat concerned that the emails they sent using the work email can be logged and printed.
They definitely CAN be logged and printed going back over several months as another colleague of my friend had this done to them a couple of years ago as proof they were abusing the email system.

My question is thus: if my friends boss decides to print the emails what can they do with the content of them? I understand if its work related they can probably do anything they want, but if it is personal information that my friend would prefer to keep out of the public domain where does my friend stand? Could my friends boss just disclose this information to my friends colleagues or is there an element of DPA even if my friend was abusing the email system?

Thanks,

Bobl

I am not an expert on the DPA, however by using the company system to send personal details your friend has already publicly disclosed the information themselves. Depending on the company policy on private email use, management could use the mail as proof of abuse, or the content if it is defamatory in any way.

LindsayO

Is there any reason to think that they would want or need to target your friend in any way?
If he deletes the emails can they still get access to them?

If everything is going well for your friend at work and he has no reason to think he will be investigated in any way, I would just delete the offending emails and be more careful in future

If on the otherhand he has reason to be worried, either because the company lis likely to do random checks, or because of something he else he has done, I would consult a solicitor for advice

crispy_chris

Yeah I understand that the emails themselves could be used as proof of abuse. I jut wondered if the content of the emails could be disclosed to other co-workers working in the same role.

I.e. if they have been bad-mouthing a colleague, whether their manager (being friends with the colleague who has been bad-mouthed) could disclose what was in the email, thus causing tension in the office.

zzzLazyDaisy

The starting point must be the company's e-mail/internet/computer policy, as he is required to comply with the provisions and restrictions of such a policy.

SarEl

crispy_chris wrote: »

Yeah I understand that the emails themselves could be used as proof of abuse. I jut wondered if the content of the emails could be disclosed to other co-workers working in the same role.

I.e. if they have been bad-mouthing a colleague, whether their manager (being friends with the colleague who has been bad-mouthed) could disclose what was in the email, thus causing tension in the office.

But the e-mails are not "his" - they are sitting on an employers computer system and also, I would lay bets, written during working hours. The internet /computer use policy may define appropriate use and abuse of the system by employes, and the employers position on this, but it won't set out who the "information" belongs to. If it is on the employers system, it belongs to the employer and DPA does not apply as a protection to the employee who wrote it. It would, however, be possible for the colleague to make an SAR and obtain these e-mails from the employer - the employer would be unable to withhold them if such a request was made, and if they are defamatory, then the person is perfectly within their rights to sue (hoever unlikely it may be that they would).

If one is using an employers computer the best advice is to never say or type anything that you wouldn't mind putting on a poster on the office wall. But the bottom line here is - if he has been bad-mouthing someone and the manager told this person, or it came out in some other way, how would you prove the source of the information? Office gossip is the easiest method on earth of getting a story around, with nobody knowing quite who started it or how it came about. It is usually faster than e-mail too

Zazen999

Why not tell us the actual story, rather than half a one? What has happened to prompt you to ask the question?

zzzLazyDaisy

crispy_chris wrote: »

Yeah I understand that the emails themselves could be used as proof of abuse. I jut wondered if the content of the emails could be disclosed to other co-workers working in the same role.

I.e. if they have been bad-mouthing a colleague, whether their manager (being friends with the colleague who has been bad-mouthed) could disclose what was in the email, thus causing tension in the office.

I agree with Zazen - if you tell us what has happened instead of revealing the facts in dribs and drabs, we may be able to help.

But to address your comments - the e-mails are almost certainly sitting on the company's server, so they will be available to the company's techies (and therefore to any manager who requests them)

If a worker has been the subject of an e-mail, written in working hours, on a company computer, there is absolutely nothing to stop the manager informing the worker of this. The worker may choose to make a formal complaint and/or institute a grievance against the originator.

There is no element of DPA that would protect the originator in these circumstances, since the contents of the e-mail do not contain confidential or personal information about the originator - however they may conceivably contain such information about the subject of the e-mails - ie the colleague.

Also 'bad-mouthing' a colleague, depending in the circumstances, may be grounds for disciplinary action, so 'tension in the office' may be the least of his worries.

Uncertain

SarEl wrote: »

But the e-mails are not "his" - they are sitting on an employers computer system and also, I would lay bets, written during working hours.

Really, in what sense "not his"?

Whilst I fully accept he may well be in breach of his employers IT rules (and if so could be disiplined or even sacked) this doesn't make the employer the owner of the content if it wasn't part of his work.

Suppose he had been sitting at work writing the next best seller and emailing it chapter by chapter to his publisher. It wasn't part of his job so the employer doesn't own the copyright. Is it not a bit like the owner of a photographic print may well not own the copyright of the image?

Zazen999

Uncertain wrote: »

Really, in what sense "not his"?

Whilst I fully accept he may well be in breach of his employers IT rules (and if so could be disiplined or even sacked) this doesn't make the employer the owner of the content if it wasn't part of his work.

Suppose he had been sitting at work writing the next best seller and emailing it chapter by chapter to his publisher. It wasn't part of his job so the employer doesn't own the copyright. Is it not a bit like the owner of a photographic print may well not own the copyright of the image?

Aah - if it was in work time, then they might well have a case to claim that as it was done in work time, they own the IP of the best seller.

Uncertain

Zazen999 wrote: »

Aah - if it was in work time, then they might well have a case to claim that as it was done in work time, they own the IP of the best seller.

I don't think so unless it was part of his job. As I understand it (and I think there is case law) if it wasn't part of his duties to produce that kind of IP then the employer doesn't own the IP even if it was (wrongly) produced in the employer's time. In other words the employer can't have it both ways......