Viewing employees lap top...
Discussion
I don't know the answer to your question, it probably depends on your IT policies and employment contract, but if he has been sharing competitively sensitive information with a competitor you should seriously consider competition law risk and perhaps an approach to the CMA under its leniency program. Depends on the nature of the jnfo shared. Legal advice recommended.
Yes. Its the company computed, not theirs. You shuould have a policy explaining as such.
The data shardd could also be illegal:
https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enforcement/j...
The data shardd could also be illegal:
https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enforcement/j...
Sir Bagalot said:
Depends on your role within the firm
IT can create a problem on the laptop and when resolving will be able to have a look.
They don't need to create a problem. They can just seize the company asset. They could just say "we think it has a virus that is impacting the network" if they want to give a reason.IT can create a problem on the laptop and when resolving will be able to have a look.
As has been suggested, you have a legal obligation to protect personal information under the 2018 Data Protection Act (& the GDPR).
If you suspect that the employee is leaking data that could include personal information (names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers included as they can identify the individual), then you must act (if there has been a breach, then you are already non-compliant, not to then take action would be viewed dimly). OK, if it is only a record or two, then the ICO will have bigger issues to deal with, but it does give you an idea of where the law stands on it.
Your employment contracts and staff privacy notices should highlight that in order to meet your legal obligations, you require full access to company resources, PC's, emails systems etc. Upon realising the legal requirements, many companies took the opportunity to update their written and procedural policies and contracts to meet their new obligations.
BYOD makes this particularly challenging, which is why the company policies should be very carefully considered.
If you suspect that the employee is leaking data that could include personal information (names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers included as they can identify the individual), then you must act (if there has been a breach, then you are already non-compliant, not to then take action would be viewed dimly). OK, if it is only a record or two, then the ICO will have bigger issues to deal with, but it does give you an idea of where the law stands on it.
Your employment contracts and staff privacy notices should highlight that in order to meet your legal obligations, you require full access to company resources, PC's, emails systems etc. Upon realising the legal requirements, many companies took the opportunity to update their written and procedural policies and contracts to meet their new obligations.
BYOD makes this particularly challenging, which is why the company policies should be very carefully considered.
Freakuk said:
A breach is a breach though
Not all breaches are equal from a liability perspective. If the shared/leaked data had any PII and the breach wasn't assessed dealt with then OPs firm could get a real spanking from the ICO. Sharing other data may solely be a breach of internal policy or the employees contract which can be dealt with internally.I imagine any firm that hands out laptops to employees has at least an off the shelf policy which would detail that the content of the device are not theirs and can be subject to monitoring etc. If not then just mug him in the car park.
MikeStroud said:
It’s not personal data, simply test results. Thanks for suggestions. I’ll check them out.
You misunderstand. HE may have personal data on the laptop, now if you access that....... Do you have a policy in place that states anything on the business computer belongs to the business?I had this issue a three or four years back. We monitored e mail traffic form the servers to gather evidence which the employee was unaware of.
Errant employee was dismissed for gross misconduct but refused to surrender his company laptop. We recovered the laptop from employees home address which is another story.
However the whole process was carried out under the advice and management by a major international law firm specialising in employment law, so all perfectly legal.
Personal data from the works laptop was recovered and provided on a hard drive back to the employee.
Errant employee was dismissed for gross misconduct but refused to surrender his company laptop. We recovered the laptop from employees home address which is another story.
However the whole process was carried out under the advice and management by a major international law firm specialising in employment law, so all perfectly legal.
Personal data from the works laptop was recovered and provided on a hard drive back to the employee.
xyyman said:
I had this issue a three or four years back. We monitored e mail traffic form the servers to gather evidence which the employee was unaware of.
.
And you no doubt have a policy regarding Computer Use which enables monitoring and so on...….. The OP is silent on that material fact..
Jasandjules said:
And you no doubt have a policy regarding Computer Use which enables monitoring and so on...….. The OP is silent on that material fact.
Yes, as a FCA regulated company, we do and it has passed muster with the regulator. Regulated, or unregulated, it would be very unwise not to have such a policy.Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff