Online Rights for Employees in the Information Society

by Blanpain, Roger

• ISBN13: 9789041116260
• ISBN10: 9041116265
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Law Intl

Summary

A number of practices in today's 'wired' workplace threaten several fundamental rights. More and more, employees are expected to curtail their right to communicate and their right to access to information. Their right to privacy may also be breached by monitoring of their e-mail and Internet activity. Although employers have legitimate reasons for such restrictive or invasive measures and clearly have their own right to supervise the use of company property it can no longer be denied that the legal and even moral issues that arise from the new reality of work in the information society demand serious and detailed consideration if labour law's role as a vital component of the employment relationship is to survive. In this very significant book, crucial questions arising in the context of the new world of work are explored by a distinguished gathering of academics, civil servants, trade union representatives, managers, employees and students from sixteen countries. The Conference, held in Brussels in November 2000, was co-sponsored by the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science And The Arts, Union Network International, UNI-Europa, And The Euro-Japan Institute for Law and Business. Participants analyzed trends And The ever-increasing possibilities and opportunities to communicate, monitoring included, In order to clarify such issues as the following: 'on-line rights' And The form they should take in the workplace; employer liability for damage to third parties caused by e-mail or Internet activity; sexual harassment via e-mail or Internet activity; protection against hackers and other security measures; safeguarding confidentiality, both employer's and employee's; and the right to personal use of the company's communications technology. These and other aspects of the growing conflict between managerial prerogative And The right to privacy in the workplace are here given a fuller and more provocative treatment than is available in any other single source.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Notes on Contributors	ix
Introductory Remarks and Some Conclusions	xi
Roger Blanpain
Introductory Remarks	xv
Tadashi Hanami
Welcome	xix
Thord Wedin
The Protection of Privacy at Work	1	(8)
Peter Skyte
Employment in a Global Knowledge Economy	9	(8)
Peter Johnston
Forwarding Confidential Information on the Internet: Technological Possibilities of Monitoring and Control	17	(12)
Marc Van Gestel
Monitoring and Control of Use of E-mail and the Internet by the Employee. Management's Point of View	29	(6)
Eamonn Sheehy
Employment and Labour Law Aspects. Setting the Scene. Asking the Right Questions?	35	(10)
Roger Blanpain
Privacy and Employment Law: General Principles and Application to Electronic Monitoring	45	(20)
Frank Hendrickx
Belgian Law	65	(30)
Frank Hendrickx
Annex: Report of the Belgian Workshop	92	(3)
Frank Hendrickx
Dutch Law	95	(30)
Taufan C.B. Homan
English Law	125	(24)
Gillian Morris
Annex: Report of the English Workshop	147	(2)
Andrew Bibby
French Law	149	(22)
Jean-Emmanual Ray
Jacques Rojot
German Law	171	(22)
Armin Hoeland
Italian Law	193	(8)
Michele Colucci
Italian Law	201	(6)
Vincenzo Ferrante
Italian Law	207	(6)
Emiliana M. Dal Bon
Japanese Law	213	(20)
Ikuko Sunaoshi
United States Law	233	(18)
Matthew W. Finkin
A `First Principles' Examination of Electronic Privacy in the Workplace	251	(18)
Jay P. Kesan
Regulating and Monitoring Communications in the Enterprise: Guidelines for the Development of an Effective Usage Policy	269
Jos Dumortier