New Technology and Respect for Privacy at the Workplace

By Euroline

The use of new information and communication technologies (ICT) at the workplace has spread rapidly in recent years.

This raises numerous issues for employers, employees and their representatives, especially in terms of the relationship between workers' privacy and employers' need to control and monitor the use of ICT. The matter is especially topical in Europe at present, with the European Commission due to propose a Directive on workplace data protection in 2004 or 2005. This comparative study focuses on one specific issue raised by the growth of ICT at work - the relationship between internet/e-mail use at work and respect for workers' privacy. It examines: the European and national legal framework on privacy at work, data protection, and workplace internet/mail use; guidelines and codes of conduct in this area; the views and activities of the social partners; and the extent to which collective bargaining deals with such topics.