Can private e-mail get you fired?

[Mars]

Let the CEO fry! Its privacy invasion. And also the users stupid fault for leaving her mail open. But never the less, its free speech, so just because you don't like what someone is saying about you\company doesn't mean you must try and physical hurt them. Typical!

whut?

 

[grok]

In another story Apple fired a guy for posting comments on his private Facebook page.

Apple was OK to fire man for private Facebook comments

'Image is so central to Apple's success', says tribunal

Apple was right to fire an employee of one of its UK stores for saying rude things about the company on his Facebook wall, an employment tribunal in Bury St Edmunds ruled.*

The tribunal judge upheld Apple's dismissal of the man for gross misconduct in a case which sets another precedent for social network users who like to bitch about work online.

The Apple Store worker had made derogatory comments about Apple's brand and products on his Facebook wall. Although his posts were not public, one of his unfriendlier "friends" – also a colleague in the store – printed the comments out and showed them to their boss, who fired the man for misconduct.

According to a legal commentary by Jamie Hamnett of Addleshaw Goddard LLP on the blog PeopleManagement.co.uk, the judge supported Apple's decision for two reasons in particular.

First because "Apple had in place a clear social media policy and stressed in their induction process that commentary on Apple products, or critical remarks about the brand were strictly prohibited".

And second because such comments would be particularly damaging for Apple as "image is so central to its success".

A striking feature of the case was that although the man's Facebook comments were not public - privacy settings had been applied - the judge decided because that the comments could be easily copied and pasted by his friends they did not attract any privacy protection.

Hamnett writes:

Despite having "private" Facebook settings, the tribunal decided that there was nothing to prevent friends from copying and passing on Crisp’s* comments, so he was unable to rely on the right to privacy contained in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (covered in the UK by the Human Rights Act 1998). He retained his right to freedom of expression under Article 10, but Apple successfully argued that it was justified and proportionate to limit this right in order to protect its commercial reputation against potentially damaging posts.

El Reg contacted the employment tribunal, which confirmed that it had thrown out Crisp's appeal against his dismissal for gross misconduct at the Bury St Edmunds tribunal on 5 August.

You've been warned.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/03/apple_employee_fired/

But then this is Apple, and we all know Apple is 'special'.

 

[AstroTurf]

http://www.labourguide.co.za/most-r...lingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=art/pp

employers must draft and implement email and internet policies, regulating the use of internet and email more comprehensively and specifically regulating what the consequences of non-compliance would be, for example, setting out the specific conduct and the sanctions it would attract. Employees should also be requested to inform third parties that their emails may be intercepted by the employer.

 

[AstroTurf]

Yea we host our domain with google also...

Back on topic:

What about if it says in the employee's contract that the computer is for work purposes only and that all activity is monitored and recorded?
Could I then use the recorded information to prosecute and dismiss the employee rather than going into their personal mail?

Follow the link on my last post.

 

[AstroTurf]

Uhm I am speaking under correction (vaguely recalling this being discussed at a conference). Even if you have policies in place it is illegal to intercept communications without a court order. If this had gone to court the fines would have been significant. A customer needed court approval to access an employee mailbox on infrastructure they owned because the employee wouldn't give consent (this was to get reference mail for legal proceedings on some contract litigation). You aren't even allowed to monitor what sites employees go to. The most you can monitor is the actual usage.

Sent from my Desire HD using MyBroadband Android App

Depends on the companies internet policies.

 

[zizebra]

This is an interesting case, initially I thought yes you can be fired. But then, personal email on gmail,company can't fire you. The employer should realise that they don't own anything here, except for the medium used to access the email. Every piece of evidence used in this case is hearsay. Definitely can't bring the email as evidence if they do they should be sued for invasion of privacy.

Its a pity they should have put an IT policy in place.Company should remember gmail is not facebook and contents belong to individual not company.

 

[myt792]

How legal is the interception by managers in a company, of emails that they are not CC or addressed to? In a company I know the directors read most employees mail and have a number redirected to them for monitoring. Employees have also received disciplinaries for sending any non-work related emails including motivational messages internally.

 

[zamicro]

I'd never do something so risky and so stupid as complain about my boss and my job while I'm at work. What if the boss just happened to walk in while you're typing such emails? It's her own fault for getting caught.

Who said that she send the emails while at work?

 

[warchylde]

Depends on the companies internet policies.

even then it's not clear cut. RICA is much more far reaching than the labour laws. Unless those policies are absolutely airtight the company is liable. Specially so if the person only accessed and online mailbox (Gmail etc) That is not seen as company infrastructure and not bound by the labour laws (even though the person used the companies infrastructure to access it). For example the company can forbid personal usage but to prove it they have to monitor the traffic which is completely illegal without a warrant.

Due to the nature of politics in South Africa I think the employee will win this battle every time.

 

[warchylde]

How legal is the interception by managers in a company, of emails that they are not CC or addressed to? In a company I know the directors read most employees mail and have a number redirected to them for monitoring. Employees have also received disciplinaries for sending any non-work related emails including motivational messages internally.

Do you have an airtight IT policies in place? Have staff been notified that their e-mails may be monitored (from the day they started not after)? If neither of these do you have a warrant for accessing their e-mail? Are the e-mails in question on your mail system (company owned) or on gtalk or similar (yes I know you said you redirected them but you can do this with gmail and google apps as well)