Monitoring, interception and Big Boss in the workplace: is the devil in the details?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2009/v12i1a2718Abstract
This article discusses the opposing dynamics in the modern workplace environment, specifically employees’ expectations of e-privacy and employers’ interception and monitoring of electronic communications. In terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002 employees must take prior notice of or consent to the interception and monitoring of their e-communications. The article focuses on the extent to which click-wrap agreements and hypertext or XML links to e-workplace policies could meet these requirements.
Downloads
References
Bibliography
Beech 2005 ILJ
Beech W "Right of Employer to Monitor Employees' Electronic Mail,
Telephone Calls, Internet Usage and other Recordings" 2005 (26) Industrial Law Journal 650-660
Cohen 2001 SAJIC
Cohen T "'But for the Nicety of Knocking and Requesting a Right of Entry': Surveillance Law and Privacy Rights in South Africa" 2001 (1) Southern African Journal of Information and Communication 1-12
Collier 2002 ILJ
Collier D "Workplace Privacy in the Cyber Age" 2002 (23) Industrial Law Journal 1743-1759
Dekker 2004 SA Merc LJ
Dekker A "Vices or Devices: Employee Monitoring in the Workplace" 2004
(16) SA Mercantile Law Journal 622-637
Haupt The pudding is in the proof
Haupt DM The pudding is in the proof – Basic principles of the law of contract discussed and applied to instances of 'click-wrap and browsewrap' agreements (Unpublished LLM research report Wits 2005)
Kaufman and Winn 2000 ELR
Kaufman J and JH Winn "Electronic Promises: Contract Law Reform and E-commerce in a Comparative Perspective" 2000 (27) European Law Review 567-588
Le Roux "Employment"
Le Roux PAK "Employment Practices in the Age of the Internet"
(Unpublished paper delivered at the E-commerce and Current Commercial Law Workshop on 29 August 2003 at Sandton Johannesburg)
McGregor 2004 SA Merc LJ
McGregor M "The Right to Privacy in the Workplace: General Case Law
and Guidelines for Using the Internet and e-Mail" 2004 (16) SA Mercantile Law Journal 638-650
Meiring "Electronic Transactions"
Meiring R "Electronic Transactions" in Buys R and Cronjé F (eds) Cyberlaw
@ SA II: The Law of the Internet in South Africa 2nd ed (Van Schaik Pretoria 2004)
Mischke 2001 Contemporary Labour Law
Mischke C "The Monitoring and Interception of Electronic Communications:
Obtaining and Using E-mail and other Electronic Evidence" 2001 (10) Contemporary Labour Law 2001 91-98
Mischke 2003 Contemporary Labour Law
Mischke C "Workplace Privacy, e-mail interception and the law: Does new
Legislation limit employers' Rights to Read E-mail?" 2003 (12) Contemporary Labour Law 71-80
Oyarzábal 2004 U Miami Inter-Am L Rev
Oyarzábal MJA "International Electronic Contracts A note on Argentine
Choice of Law rules" 2004 35 University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 499-526
Pappas 2002 Denver JILP
Pappas CW "Comparative U.S. and EU Approaches to E-Commerce
Regulation: Jurisdiction, Electronic Contracts, Electronic Signatures and
Taxation" 2002 (31) Denver Journal of International Law & Policy 325-331
Van Eck 2001 De Jure
Van Eck BPS "Misuse of Internet at the Workplace" 2001 (34) De Jure 364369
Van Jaarsveld 2004 SA Merc LJ
Van Jaarsveld M "Forewarned in Forearmed: Some Thoughts on the
Inappropriate Use of Computers in the Workplace" 2004 (16) SA Mercantile Law Journal 651-666
Wood-Bodley SALJ
Wood-Bowley MC "Wills, Data Messages, and the Electronic
Communications and Transactions Act" 2005 South African Law Journal 526-528
Register of cases
Bamford v Energiser (SA) Ltd [2001] 12 BALR 1251 (P)
Bernstein v Bester 1996 2 SA 751 (CC)
Cronje v Toyota Manufacturing [2001] 3 BALR 213 (CCMA).
Dauth and Brown v Wier's Cash N Carry 2002 23 ILJ 1272 (CCMA)
Durban's Water Wonder Land v Botha 1999 1 All SA 411 (A)
Goosen v Caroline's Frozen Yogurt Parlour (Pty) Ltd 1995 16 ILJ 396 (IC)
Gouws v Score/Price & Pride Furnishers 2001 11 BALR 1155 (CCMA)
Moonsamy v The Mailhouse (1999) 20 ILJ 464 (CCMA)
Philander v CSC Computer Sciences [2002] 3 BALR 304 (CCMA)
Protea Technology Ltd v Wainer 1997 (9) BCLR 1225 (W)
Register of legislation, official documents and international instruments
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996
Electronic Communication and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
Electronic Communication and Transactions Bill B8 of 2002
GN 122 in GG 24286 of 23 January 2003
GN 55 in GG 28075 of 23 September 2005
Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act 127 of 1992
Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-
Related Information Act Act 70 of 2002
Telecommunications Act 103 of 1996
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce 1996 GA Res 51/162 of 16
December 1996
Register of Internet sources
Anon 2003 www.legalbrief.co.za
Anon "Office E-Mail: Consent Doesn't have to be in Writing – Expert" www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=8958 [date of use 5 Aug 2003]
Basset 2003 www.fmew.com
Basset MJ "An Overview of E-mail and Internet Monitoring in the
Workplace" www.fmew.com/archive/monitoring/ [date of use 13 Aug 2003]
Benn 2003 www.legalbrief.co.za
Benn W "Written Consent To Intercept E-Mail Is Only One Option For
Employers" www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=9025 [date of use 12 Feb 2003]
Buys 2003 www.legalbrief.co.za
Buys R 2003 The Use Of E-Mail Blocking Software Will Soon Be Illegal In
South Africa" www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=9061 [date of use 5 Aug 2003]
Buys 2003 www.estrategy.co.za
Buys R 2003 Written Consent Or Not: When May Employers Intercept EMail? www.estrategy.co.za/article.asp?pk1ArticleIO=2375&pk1IssueID=
&pk1CategoryID [date of use 19 Feb 2003]
Buys 2003 www.legalbrief.co.za
Buys R 2003 E-mail filtering www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=
[date of use 8 May 2003]
Ebersöhn 2003 www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=9264 Ebersöhn G "The Question of Written Consent"
www.legalbrief.co.za/view_1.php?artnum=9264 [date of use 5 Aug 2003]
Guedes 2003 www.itweb.co.za
Guedes G 2003 Legal Loophole Could Make Blocking E-mail Illegal www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2003/0307161112.asp?O=E [date of use 16 Jul 2003]
Hill and Walden 1996 www.batnet.com
Hill R and Walden I 1996 The Draft UNCITRAL Model Law for Electronic Commerce: Issues and Solutions The Computer Lawyer March www.batnet.com/oikoumene/tacr.html [date of use 21 Nov 2004]
Sukhraj 2003 www.sundaytimes.co.za
Sukhraj P 2003 New Law Stops Bosses Spying on E-mail
www.sundaytimes.co.za/2003/02/02news/news12.asp [date of use 5 Aug 2003]
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 T Pistorius
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.