Can employers read employees’ messages?

A recent case in the European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of an employer that read an employee’s private messages and used them as evidence for dismissal.

These stated that it was strictly forbidden 'to use computers, photocopiers, telephones, telex and fax machines for personal purposes'.

The court ruled in favour of the employer, on the basis that the messages had been sent using a work account and stating that it was not 'unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours'.

Importantly, this does not automatically give employers the right to start snooping on their staff communications; the case at hand had a specific set of circumstances. Mr Bărbulescu’s employer had set up the messenger account for work communications and had banned all members of the company's staff from sending personal messages while at work.