Data Protection & Privacy Issues in the Context of an Employment Relationship

• collected and recorded for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes;
• accurate and, if necessary, updated;
• pertinent, complete and not exceeding the purposes for which it was collected or subsequently processed;
• strictly related to the purposes for which the data was collected or subsequently processed.

It is also important that employers, in their capacity as data controllers, take measures to ensure that employees who will be involved in processing other employees’ or customers’ personal data are contractually bound to process such data acting only on the instructions of the employer and taking all those security measures available to the employer to protect the personal data against accidental, destruction or loss or unlawful forms or processing.

Moreover, it is good practice for employers to include in the contract of employment a clause to the effect that the employer’s communication systems are made available to the employee with the understanding that these are used by solely and exclusively in furtherance of the employer’s business and that all communications made through the employer’s communication systems are subject to interception, surveillance and monitoring. This avoids potentially uncomfortable privacy-related situations for the employer by making things clear to all employees from the outset.