Landmark European Court of Human Rights ruling allows bosses to monitor staff messages

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that private messages sent by staff on company software and web accounts during working hours can be read by the respective employer.   

ECHR rulings are binding to all countries who have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights, meaning this decision will have repercussions in the UK.   

Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu was an engineer "charged with selling heating equipment", the judgement says.  He created an account to answer client’s queries. On this account he also messaged his fiancé and brother. In 2007, he was informed that his interactions were being watched, and was presented with a 45 page transcript. He was dismissed for breaching company rules. 

The Strasbourg court said: “[It is] not unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours.” Barbulescu’s claim that his privacy was breached was dismissed.