Monitoring Employees' Communications

The long running case of Barbulescu was back in the news last week. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Claimant's Article 8 right to privacy was breached when his employers investigated his private messages. This is notwithstanding the fact that the employer's policies clearly set out that personal use of its computer systems was prohibited.

This case is a reminder to employers that if they intend to monitor an employee's emails and communications, except in exceptional...