Monitoring of employees takes many forms: computer, telephone, the right to search and CCTV.

Most employees will accept that it may be necessary to occasionally monitor their computer usage. The reasons for monitoring may differ, but a policy is a prerequisite to bringing understanding and consensus. An employer may want to monitor the standard of work of employees or to ascertain that there has been no material misuse of company systems and no inappropriate behaviour or illegal downloading. Employers should ensure staff are in no doubt that inappropriate usage is a disciplinary issue with sanctions up to and including termination of employment.

Employers beware: an unfettered right to review telephone and computer usage, websites and email cannot be reserved. Employers may find themselves in breach of the Data Protection Act and their employees' right to privacy.

Any monitoring policy should be objective and fair and any monitoring activity should be a proportionate response to the risks the employer faces whilst taking into account the legitimate privacy rights of employees

Any personal data processed in the course of monitoring must be relevant and not excessive and not retained for longer than the purpose for which the monitoring is justified. At the very least, employees should be aware that the monitoring is taking place unless there are very good objective reasons for not doing so, such as the investigation of a criminal complaint or destructive behaviour of an employee.

Employers also need to tread carefully where they reserve the right to search an employee, their property, locker or vehicle at any time. As this is a necessary security measure in many workplaces, employees should be made aware from the start of their employment of such a policy and their consent obtained. If not obtained at the beginning, it may be very difficult, if not impossible, to introduce such a regime retrospectively.

Finally, where video surveillance is in operation, employees must be made aware of its existence and the justification for it. It should also be as unobtrusive as possible and if in a public area signs to that effect should be displayed

Oisín Scollard is a Barrister and Director of HR company Employment Clinic

www.employmentclinic.ie