Why you should have an email and computer use policy

Originally published in GP magazine .

Written for GP magazine around 2002. This is the version I submitted - the published article may have been edited.

As an employer you could be sued if an employee sent an email that was defamatory, libellous, racist, sexist or breached a patient’s confidentiality, even if it was personal with no relation to your practice. Current guidance is confusing: some authorities state employers, to safeguard themselves, should intercept and read all employees’ emails, while human rights legislation safeguards the right to privacy. If you don’t have a clear policy on what is proper use, you could be laid open to a charge of unfair dismissal for punishing or dismissing the guilty employee. Hopefully clarification is going to be released on the Information Commissioner’s website, www.dataprotection.gov.uk; however all organisations are advised to have a policy in place to limit their liability and help steer employees away from dangerous activities.

The policy might include: the risks of email, to inform users of why it is necessary; a section on email etiquette to show best practice; whether personal use is allowed, or limits on what activities can be performed. It is worth explicitly stating that the creation or distribution of any offensive or disruptive messages, including messages containing offensive comments about race, gender, age, sexual orientation, pornography, religious or political beliefs, national origin or disability, is not allowed, and including a reference to the disciplinary procedure that will ensue if this is not followed. You could list the appropriate actions if an employee is the recipient of such an email. If you are going to monitor emails then you should inform everybody, so that you cannot be accused of infringing their privacy.

Make sure everyone has a copy of your policy and document their acceptance of it. Don’t forget all new members of staff and any temporary workers who are given access to your system. Training your staff on effective use of email could be an excellent project for a practice development plan and could be linked in with confidentiality, Caldicott, data protection and even clinical governance.