Monitoring, interception and Big Boss in the workplace: is the devil in the details?

Authors

  • Tania Pistorius University of South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2009/v12i1a2718

Abstract

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

Download data is not yet available.

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– Basic principles of the law of contract discussed and applied to instances of 'click-wrap and browsewrap' agreements (Unpublished LLM research report Wits 2005)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(Unpublished paper delivered at the E-commerce and Current Commercial Law Workshop on 29 August 2003 at Sandton Johannesburg)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

26-06-2017

How to Cite

Pistorius, T. (2017). Monitoring, interception and Big Boss in the workplace: is the devil in the details?. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 12(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2009/v12i1a2718

Issue

Section

Articles