Wadham believes workers should be provided with guaranteed privacy in some areas, perhaps through a separate personal email account for non-work matters. Employers could also agree not to restrict staff use of web-based email, limiting their interest to communications from work email addresses. Even with an agreed policy, there are still problems when monitoring is secret, perhaps because an employee is suspected of criminal activity or breaking their contract. It is also highly likely that monitoring will uncover personal information which is not relevant to the job. He cites the need to stop viruses or block obscene material as legitimate.
Journalists are worried because many have confidential sources who use email from their workplaces.
Milverton Wallace, organiser of the annual NetMedia conference for online journalists, has arranged a seminar on legal ways around the regulations. The new regulations do not address the issue of how an employer uses the information obtained. We are saying that when there is going to be any form of monitoring of email or phone calls then the fair thing to do is to be open with individuals. Rod Armitage, head of legal affairs at the Confederation of British Industry, has criticised the draft code for not acknowledging the needs of employers. However, Jones feels that the possible conflict has been rather overstated.