New guidelines for business privacy issues

Uncertainty and rising concern over privacy issues in the workplace has prompted moves to protect business owners and employees.

A consistently high level of calls has seen the Privacy Commission introduce guidelines, which they hope will help clarify difficult and potentially contentious workplace privacy issues.

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff said privacy issues at work affected most New Zealanders and it was an area that generated a great range of questions.

The Commission got between 6000 and 7000 calls and email enquiries per year.

"A significant number of our calls relate to employment issues and the calls come from both employers and employees."

About 700 hundred of these enquiries resulted in written complaints, mostly around access to personal files.

While there was some agreement over what was seen as acceptable surveillance, there was still considerable angst.

"Our impression is that people generally accept that their employers need to know what is going on at work but they don't like being watched all the time."

Areas considered private included locker rooms, emails, use of the Internet and the use of company vehicles outside working hours.

Employers were generally unsure about looking at employees emails, internet use, reference checking and workplace drug testing

Most recently, concerns were being raised over employers introducing new technology such as finger scanning and video surveillance and not warning workers.

Ms Shroff said the best policy in these cases was always openness and advised employers to tell workers what new technology was being used and why.

The guidelines are available for purchase from the Privacy Commissions website.

- © Fairfax NZ News