Question

This is all the information that was given to me.

1) Do employees have privacy rights in their offices supplied by their employer in the employer’s building? Explain.

2) As an employer, how can I minimize employee’s privacy expectations?

Needing help answering these two questions

Answer 1

1) In general words we can say that Privacy rights are the rules or regulations which provides a limit upto which an employer can search or access the employee's possessions such as computer, desk, speech etc. However an employer can access only such things which belongs to employer not the personal belongings of the employee.

Generally a employee has very fewer rights related to privacy at work as compared to his or her personal life but a person is still entitled to have some privacy at his job. In every normal casse the employer checks the employee's workplace, office, his computer and files saved in it, mails, lockers provided etc. beacuse the workplace belongs to the employer and also it is seen that employees do not have any expectation of privacy in these areas.

Let's take example of computer provided to employee by employer. As the computer and other networking infrastructure belongs to the employer and the employer is entitled to moniter the use of such computer. Also employees does not have any privacy related to mails, phone calls and text on the company networking equipments. However, at some places there may be some law or rules (it may also be made by unions) regarding the privacy of employees.

At many places there is rule to check the employees at day end when they are leaving the premises of employer, so no employee can make any objections to such act. Also at some places Surveillance tools are installed to prevent employee theft. Even if any employee is using employer's equipments at his home for his personal tasks, the employer can check.

However, the employer has no right to access the personal things of the employee such as his private phone, his personal laptop etc.

So, we can say that any employee has not much privacy right at workplace. The rights of an employee is limited to his personal belongings.

2) There are many ways by which an employer can minimize the privacy expectations of employee's at workplace. Some of them are as below:-

a) Firstly the employer must maintain a balance between interest of comapny with the interest of employee's to maintain a degree of their privacy when provide them confidence of working.

b) At the time of joining, a privacy statement between employer and employee should be signed to avoid the disputes in future.

c) A sound and clear policy should be made and also clearly communicated to the employees regarding the privacy and access by the employer. Surely it will minimize the expectations of employee's.

d) Also an employer have to follow the local laws related to privacy of employees. In some cases it is not necessary to told the employees that they are monitered but in some cases it is necessary to tell them, this depends on local laws.

e) Also in case of voilations of policy, proper correct actions should be taken against the employee.