Companies should not access the email professional workers, without prior authorization, or monitor your profiles on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, to question them about what share from your accounts. These are some of the directives included a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted this month, and that the Directorate-General of Portuguese Justice Policy released though.
In the past 1 April, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted its latest recommendation on the processing of personal data in the workplace, whereas the previous recommendation was “outdated” regarding the influence that the new technologies have been having on business and the right to privacy of workers.
The Directorate-General for Justice Policy replies to your site some of the main directives the European document, despite not being part of the national legislation, advances this Friday the Daily News . Portugal has not internally adopt any of the proposed rules do not have a date for doing so, but as Member State of the European Union should adapt their laws to the recommendation. For now, this can serve as an argument base for future cases where dismissal is justified by the company with the employee’s behavior in social networks, for example.
The Council of Ministers argues, with regard to use of the Internet and communications email in the workplace, employers should “unjustified and unreasonable interference with the employee’s right to a private life,” a principle that should be extended to all ” technical devices and communication and information technologies used by the worker. “
Access by an employer to email Worker professionals should only happen when there are security or legitimate reasons for such and the employee must be informed in advance that there will be an entry in your email work. “The content, sending and receiving private electronic communications at work should not be monitored at all times”, also stresses the recommendation.
Still in access to email , the Board of Ministers holds that when the employee leaves the company, it should “automatically disable” the e-mail account before the worker leaves office, preferably in your presence.
As for what is shared n the Facebook or Twitter, the recommendation states that “the s employers should refrain from demanding or asking an employee or job seeker access to information that he or she share with others online, including through social networks. ”
Video Surveillance prohibited workers
Another of the issues is the monitoring of workers, including video surveillance. The recommendation is clear: “They should not be allowed the introduction and use of systems and information technology with direct and primary purpose of monitoring the activity and behavior of employees.” Furthermore, the technologies that are placed by the company and end up watching indirectly employees must take into account their fundamental rights.
The recommendation emphasizes that the “use video surveillance to monitor sites that are part of the personal area of life of employees is not allowed in any situation. “
The European document also analyzes the use of equipment that reveal the location of the worker. The Council of Ministers admits that the company can monitor their employees through equipment disclosing their location, but only when it concerns the protection of “production, health and safety” of the company or to “ensure the smooth functioning of an organization “.
These directives can begin to be used in the arguments that the defense of a worker present in court when it considers that it was unfair dismissal of victim based on a comment you made on Facebook or Twitter, or when consider that the employer violated their rights to privacy in the workplace.
In the past, the Portuguese courts have received cases in which a worker was fired for remarks he made on Facebook about the company that was bound. One of them had outcome in October last year when the Court of Port Relationship confirmed the judgment of Matosinhos Labour Court of dismissal for cause, in a case dating back to December 2012.
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