Law Updates

E-mail and Internet Use

With the growth of the Internet and use of e-mail, more and more employees have access.  It is now essential to have a policy on this subject, the absence of which may cause you severe difficulty in the event of disciplinary action.  Remember, too, that you are responsible for the actions of your employees.  People tend to think of e-mail as very informal; in the business context, they are not.  A contract may be formed or amended without anyone realising it; a joke can easily become defamation.  Downloading from the Internet may be more than an abuse of company time; it may breach the law of copyright or be a criminal offence for which you, the employer may be liable.

You should, therefore, have a clear policy.  It should;-

• state what employees can and cannot do, which should be consistent with an employee's overall responsibilities and should complement your other rules and procedures
• state the extent to which employees can or cannot use e-mail or the Internet for personal purposes
• state what action will be taken against an employee who abuses the system

In cases which appear at Employment Tribunal, there have been some nasty shocks for employers.

We have a model policy available. Pleae telephone us on 0845 130 7979