Computer use, email, Internet and communications policy

If your staff work with computers, there is always a risk that they might use it for non-work tasks – checking their banking, checking their personal email messages, booking tickets to the football match, buying flowers for mother’s day and so on. There is little you can really do to stop this. However, one way of limiting misuse is to use a computer and email policy such as this. Of course the policy itself won’t stop the odd mischievous employee, however, if it is an ongoing problem and you know about it, this policy can be your lifesaver in ensuring the employee stops.

There are many aspects of IT which require control at some level. It is always difficult to decide exactly what level of control you require. This document is drawn as much to prompt your decisions as to provide a model version. Make sure you incorporate this computer and communications policy into all employment contracts by reference (as in the Net Lawman contract documents). In this way employees are bound by the terms of the policy. If you change the terms, it is important to make them clear so that staff know exactly where they stand.

Use it now because misuse of an employer’s computer is now the number one reason for dismissal. This constitutes a gigantic waste of resources in lost management time spent in re-advertising and arranging temporary substitution.

Tribunal cases are frequently lost in circumstances where common sense dictates that natural justice favoured the employer. Invariably, a feature of the employee’s case was the employers failure to say what was and what was not permitted. Let us help you to avoid this trap.