Communication Interception Act Unclear

Ivan Israelstam

• Send objectionable material to each other or to parties outside of the workplace?
• Use up bandwidth that is needed for business purposes?
• Waste company time surfing the net or sending private e-mails?
• Expose the employer's computer's to viruses?
• Expose the employer to lawsuits by sending offending or unauthorised e-mails to employees or third parties?
• Incur expenses for employers by sitting for hours on telephone calls to their friends?

Employers need to be able to monitor employee usage of their communications systems to prevent the problems that arise from such misconduct.

In the light of Rica's rigid provisions, the best strategy that employers can use with any safety is to get written permission from all employees to monitor their e-mail or other communications.

Employers should, in addition, draw up clear and comprehensive policies with regard to prohibiting the abuse of communication systems and the employer's rights to protect their interests.

The obtaining of employees' permission and the design of such policies should be done in consultation with a labour law expert to ensure that the employer neither infringes any legislation nor leaves any loopholes in its own system.

Ivan Israelstam is chief executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He can be contacted at 011 888 7944 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Our appreciation to Ivan and The Star newspaper for permission to publish this article.