WORD FILES - Date modified query - URGENT

Fountaine

Totally out of the blue my boss who can be a bit of a monster, has suspended me from work and is threatening dismissal from my job for gross misconduct. There is only me and him and I have had the feeling he was trying to get rid of me in the cheapest way as he has been struggling to pay my wages.

He has found a number of personal files on the work computer which I generated at home (I was able to prove this with screen capture shots showing my computer screen, author name and date created). Because however these files show a date modified date (usually the day after I emailed it to myself at work) he thinks I have been working on them in his time which I have not.

Would it show modified even when I only saved it ? I sent them home to work and saved into a folder. I know sometimes you get the - do you want to save changes messages - even if you have not made changes. I am nearly 60 and terrified of losing my job under circumstances of distrust. I have worked all my life and have an unblemished career and this will affact my benefits and pension. I have done nothing wrong - other than email copies to myself of personal correspondence at work to ensure I had a copy safely elsewhere. All he has found is my personal files regarding a potential litigation case against a surveyor which could cost me £40k or my home. I use Windows XP at home with Word 97 and I think it is XP Pro with Windows 2000 ? at work with newest Outlook as email. Could there be any explanation other than me saving them. I honestly haven't worked on most of the ones he has marked as modified at certain dates and times Help !

ronben

If you look for a folder called recent thats how you would find recently used docs for altering but I dont know if the cache is emptied on a shutdown restart,

Personally I would ask him what the hell he was doing snooping around my personal files.

superscaper

ronben wrote: »

Personally I would ask him what the hell he was doing snooping around my personal files.

I think this is something worth looking into. As far as I know employers are allowed to "spy" on employees but they're not allowed to look at personal files and emails and are breaking the law if they do unless they give prior warning of intent.

Little_Chicken

As soon as he opened the file it would have changed the date to 'date modified'. And yes - unless he had a genuine business reason to open them he has just broken the Data Protection Act. Perhaps it's him that needs dismissing?!?!?!!?!?

fwor

Unless he has somehow placed your work PC into a forensically safe environment, where he can guarantee that no changes have been made since you last touched it, his assertions - if based upon the file date/time modified timestamps - are meaningless.

You (or he) can download utilities like FileTweak (linked below) which allow anyone to change the timestamp on a file, and he would not (IMO) be able to base any case on that data.

http://www.febooti.com/products/filetweak/screenshots/change-file-date.html

Fountaine

ronben wrote: »

If you look for a folder called recent thats how you would find recently used docs for altering but I dont know if the cache is emptied on a shutdown restart,

Personally I would ask him what the hell he was doing snooping around my personal files.

Someone did win in the European court re being entitled to a personal and private life, but she was being monitored where he has been aware of this, did not raise it with me, but conducted an investigation. There is no Acceptable Use Policy in place. He is a difficult character, due I think to his military background, he has always got his own way by shouting at people.

ronben

Fountaine wrote: »

Someone did win in the European court re being entitled to a personal and private life, but she was being monitored where he has been aware of this, did not raise it with me, but conducted an investigation. There is no Acceptable Use Policy in place. He is a difficult character, due I think to his military background, he has always got his own way by shouting at people.

I would record him at work when hes shouting and being a jumped up little berk, keep doing this for a month then take him to court for intimidation and see the pratt squeal.

rumpelstiltskin_2

Have you sign a company IT policy? There should be one that lays out what you can and can't do on company computers. Also what the company is and is not allowed to look at.

If no such policy exists he will be on dodgy legal grounds.

Don't be bullied, talk to someone like ACAS to check your rights, also, you may have free legal advise as part of your home insurance.

Fountaine

rumpelstiltskin wrote: »

Have you sign a company IT policy? There should be one that lays out what you can and can't do on company computers. Also what the company is and is not allowed to look at.

If no such policy exists he will be on dodgy legal grounds.

Don't be bullied, talk to someone like ACAS to check your rights, also, you may have free legal advise as part of your home insurance.

It was just a para in a contract of employment worthy of a multi national - there is just me and him !, free legal would be nice, but I have seen a solicitor on a fixed fee basis. It was really the teckie side of date modified, I was hoping to prove I had not worked on it in work time, which I hadn't

Fountaine

I will be away from my computer for about 20 minutes which I go to buy a hot chicken for my dog who was possibly going to be put to sleep on Monday but has made a miraculous recovery. Keep the advice coming, I'l check when I get back.

Smirch_This

I used to write AUPs for the MoD.

There does not (legally) have to be a policy in place.

The company can look at any equipment on site for the sake of maintenance and support as it is their equipment. If at the time they find something which is evidence of breach of contract (which doing personal work is on company equipment) then they have rights to kick your butt!!!.

The modified date is not conclusive as it can be forged with software tools.