Actions that may result in legal action against an employer (part 3)

Remote Workers

There is no doubt that one of the great advantages which contemporary business technology has offered is the ability to effectively 'work from anywhere' for a number of sectors and organisations. The recent advent of internet ready mobile computers such as netbooks and the Ipad have led to increased mobility within the UK workforce. However, the flipside of this is that every single mobile device represents a potential breach of an organisation’s security, containing access to the file server, client data and email records.

Defamation

Email technology allows for unprecedented speed and breadth of distribution. Of course, this also means that negative comments about individuals or organisations are also spread at wildfire speed. Under these circumstances, employers may be liable to pay out compensation for comments made by their employees.

Copyright Infringement

Intellectual property rights are a difficult area to police, but strict laws are now in place in the UK to protect the author of content and copyright infringement. Vast quantities of information can now be easily acquired, downloaded and distributed by employees via the internet, however it could only take a single successful lawsuit to potentially cost an organisation thousands for an offence committed by an employee.

The moral of the story is this: establish a water-tight Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and implement it effectively. Then both the employer and the employee will be covered legally and will know and understand the legal limits of internet and email usage in the workplace.

We hope you have enjoyed this series and found the information useful. Wytech is able to provide you with a full AUP review and report, including a customised policy tailored to your organisation.

Written by Wytech