Protection on work email

Checking your employer is not breaking the Privacy Act

17 April 2007 10:18 GMT / By Ryan Haynes

It seems that one particular college may not have had the certain procedures in place to prevent a woman being awarded more than £6000. The ruling support the woman's claims of having her privacy breached.

Nine years ago, the woman who worked for the college was tracked, movements monitored, had her emails secretly filtered and websites checked over a period of 18 months. The surveillance was discovered when the step-daughter called to say the college contacted her to enquire about their relationship.

This ruling could mean that employers cannot spy on their staff and online activity. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the surveillance without her knowledge "amounted to an interference with her right to a private life".

At the time of the offences there was no general right to privacy in English law but the implementation of the Human Rights Act in 2000 legally protected privacy rights in domestic law.