Internet at work
Research has shown that employees spend 5 per cent of their working time on the Internet for personal use. This includes contacting friends by e-mail, requesting all kinds of information and ordering products. Just calculate what that means for your organisation. After all, a lot of working time is lost.
But there are more risks involved. Some examples are computer viruses that enter in the system, important company information that leaks out and employees who send pornographic images from within the organisation, which may damage the corporate image. In short, many employers are looking for a way to control the use of the Internet at work. Note that e-mail traffic in the Netherlands is regulated under the Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (Protection of Personal Details Act). If you decide to investigate the Internet activities of your employees, there are a number of conditions to take into account. First of all, there must be a need to track down illegitimate behaviour. Second, the investigation must be made public. Finally, the purpose of the investigation must balance with the intrusion made on the privacy of the employee.
The registration chamber has formulated several ground rules for using e-mail and Internet at work (see the box). One of the ground rules is that you must announce clearly which rules apply in your company. What you should also announce is that you intend to investigate the activities of your employees on the Internet. In court the first judgements have been passed on the illegitimate use of information in dismissal orders. Local judges now take into account that regulations about the use of e-mail and Internet at work must be clear and made public by the employer. A code of conduct for the employees may come in handy in court. It prevents that after dismissing an Internet addict, you will be faced with the extra costs of a lawsuit besides the 5 per cent of working hours lost on the Internet.
Our advice is to stick to the ground rules if you establish the company rules. If you want to draw up a code of conduct or solve the risks of private Internet use, one of our consultants will readily advise you on how to do this.
- Announce company rules in an accessible and explicit manner
- Deal with on-line matters in the same way as off-line matters;
- Make sure you have the approval of the works council;
- Establish rules about the private use of your facilities;
- Install software against illegitimate use;
- Do not mention any names in reports and users statistics;
- Make use of system back-ups;
- Make sure that you can rely upon your system administrator.
