What are the limits to an employee's right to privacy at work in regards to telecommunications and information

Question

What measures should a company take to protect its information and business?

Answer 1

Most places that work with proprietary information, if its theirs or a customers, have an employee agreement that has a clause about the use of company or customer information. A confidentiality or non-disclosure clause. This would also refer to the phone and email communication. Even if it went through a personal email address, it could be traced back to the sender.

Most places have a policy regarding the use of company property or personal property on company time. If its something like a company laptop, the policy may be that no aaplications that aren't work related can be installed. Or if its email, if its on their machine the emails belong to them and should only be work related. Personal cell phones, most places don't want employee addressing personal issues on company time, but address them on personal time. Company owned cell phones should be for company business.

If everybody knows what expected of them, these policies seem fair to the employee and the employer. The employee has the necessary tools to perform their job and and the employer has set the ground rules regarding property and information.

Answer 2

The only right to privacy an employee has, while on the job, is in the bathroom.
There is no right to privacy. Employers monitor telephone calls and email activities all of the time. They have a right to do it. Example: a co-worker of mine once gave a toll free telephone number to a relative. The relative called and ran up over $500 in telephone charges, in one month, with the co-worker. They didn't think there was a toll on those long distance calls!
Companies should take every legal measure to protect it's business. It would not be possible to list all.