News In Focus
17 April 2009
Employees cautioned over email
Employees are being reminded to think twice before sending personal emails from their work email accounts following the fallout over the Damian McBride affair
The former Downing Street special advisor lost his job after sending emails from his work computer to a friend and former colleague, suggesting they spread gossip and rumours about Conservative MPs.
Employment lawyers at law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing say people should think twice before sending emails which even discuss controversial subjects.
“Whether emails are intended to be for public consumption or not you need to treat them as if you would be happy that they were,” says HBJ Gateley Wareing partner and head of employment team, Jacqueline McCluskey.
“A private email to a friend may well in itself be in breach of your employer’s internet usage policy. Any email that comes from your employer’s email account is subject to their rules and policies and employees need to always have that at the front of their minds before hitting the send key.
“It should never be treated in the same way you would treat your own personal email account at home.”