Peter Coe looks at Bãrbulescu v Romania in terms of monitoring versus privacy rights & the fast-approaching GDPR
- Employees have an irreducible minimum right to private social life while at work.
- Highlights five steps to help employers find the right balance.
Ivery much doubt that when Mr Bogdan Bãrbulescu created a Yahoo instant messenger (IM) account at his employer’s request to deal with customer enquiries he had any idea it would end up the subject of litigation working its way all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). But it has and, in doing so, it has given us an important ruling relating to employees’ privacy in the workplace, particularly in light of the forthcoming introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018. The case in question is Bãrbulescu v Romania [2016] App no 61496/08.
What’s it all about?
On 3 July 2007, Bãrbulescu’s employer sent a notice to all employees prohibiting personal use of the internet while at work. The notice also told employees that their work would be monitored. According to Bãrbulescu, he
