More
than three-quarters of employers have policies dealing with staff use of e-mail
and the Internet, according to research.
A
survey by employment law firm Allen & Overy found that 84 per cent of
employers have e-mail and Internet policies.
But
fewer than 25 per cent of employers surveyed have policies dealing with drug
testing, fraud prevention, stop and search or CCTV.
Claire
Bradley, assistant HR manager at easyJet, agreed that the results suggest it is
increasingly common for employers to monitor employees.
She
said, “We have a laissez-faire approach to this. Our company policy on e-mail
is that we don’t monitor employees’ e-mail as we trust our employees. If an
employee is failing to meet their performance objectives, we will take a
disciplinary route.”
The
survey results show that 70 per cent of employers had a data protection
policy.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Carmen
Burton, HR manager for the accountancy firm Norton Practice, said, “These
results aren’t surprising as most employers have been driven by legislation to
put policies in place.”
The
survey also revealed that 34 per cent of employers test employees or
prospective employees for drugs and alcohol.
