Workers in Gedling borough are being warned that employers can now legally read their Facebook, WhatsApp and email messages sent on company devices during work hours
The move comes following a landmark ruling by judges at the European Court of Human Rights.
This week judges at the ECHR sided with the employers of a Romanian engineer who had taken his firm to court after he was sacked for sending messages to his brother and fiancé on Yahoo Messenger using a company-owned device.
The Judges decided that the worker was being professionally negligent and employers should be able to check what employers were doing during work hours.
Geoff Wing, a social media consultant from Carlton, today warned workers in the borough that this case had shifted the goalposts.
“The ruling was made this week because the court believes this worker breached company policy, said Geoff.
“This Romanian worker had told the court that he believed the company had breached his right to confidential correspondence when it accessed these messages back in 2007, but the court didn’t agree.”
The was denied by the judge who pointed out that the company policy pointed out that messaging apps were not to be used for personal conversations.
The ruling now means that companies based in the EU, including Britain, can access private messages sent during working hours.
How will this affect us when at work?
Geoff explains: “Now this ruling has been made, bosses will be allowed to monitor what messages you send, but only during work hours.
“Software exists which can show what is happening on a worker’s screen. Your bosses can also monitor what messages you send on a work mobile too.
“It doesn’t matter what app you use, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, or email, if it’s sent on a work device in work time your employers have the right to read it.”
Geoff has one piece of advice to ensure you don’t land in hot water with your company bosses.
He said: “If you have a work device then don’t have a private conversation on it. It’s that simple!”
What do you think of the ruling? Do you send personal messages during work time?
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