Companies have the right to monitor their workers’ online private messages, a court has ruled.
The European Court of Human Rights made the ruling on a case involving a Romanian engineer who was fired after using Yahoo Messenger not only to communicate with professional contacts, but also to send messages to his fiancée and brother.
Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu was asked to create the Yahoo account in order to answer clients’ queries. In 2007, he was approached by his employers and told that they had been monitoring his chats over several days, citing the company policy that the service should have been used for work purposes only.
He was presented with a 45 page transcript of his messages, including those sent to his fiancée.
The Strasbourg court sided with his employer that it was “not unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours.”
The judge dismissed the Barbulescu’s claim that his right to privacy had been breached in the form of his confidential correspondence being compromised.
Business news in pictures
Business news in pictures
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1/35 SocGen rogue trader seeks retrial
Jérôme Kerviel, the former Société Générale trader convicted of running up €4.9bn (£3.7bn) losses from unauthorised trades in 2008 and sentenced to five years in prison, appeared in a Paris court on Monday January 18, seeking retrial. Kerviel argues that the French bank was always aware of his trading, something SocGen denies
ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images
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2/35 British Airways Concorde 40th anniversary
David Leckie and his haggis with the G-BOAA Concorde at the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, Scotland, to mark Concorde's 40th anniversary. The world's first commercial supersonic passenger service was launched on Wednesday 21st January 1976
Andrew Milligian/PA Wire/ PA Press Association Images
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3/35 Tata Steel to cut 1,050 jobs amid union calls for Government action
A Unite union banner on the fence outside the Tata steel plant on Harbour Way, Port Talbot, as Tata is expected to announce around 1,000 job cuts at plants including Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales, dealing a huge blow to the industry and the Welsh economy.
Ben Birchall / PA Wire/Press Association Images
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4/35 A selfie with the Prime Minister
Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha takes pictures with stock exchange workers after attending a seminar on capital market development in Bangkok, Thailand, January 15, 2016.
REUTERS/Jorge Silva
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5/35 Lego lets go of its bulk sales
Ai Wei Wei on Wednesday January 13 hailed Lego's U-turn on bulk sales, after the toymaker said it would stop asking what the bricks were for. When the Chinese artist tried last year to buy Lego for a work on political dissidents Lego said it did not supply public displays with a "political agenda". Ai ended up using brick donated by the public.
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6/35 Dalian Wanda scales up
China's richest man has splashed out $3.5bn (£2.4bn) on the US film studio behind blockbusters such as Jurassic World. The move by Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda for Legendary Entertainment is the group's biggest bid yet to expand overseas. It plans to eventually float its film business
ILM/Universal Pictures/Amblin Entert
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7/35 Brighton - rental increases
The average cost of a first-time buyer deposit in Brighton has jumped 14-fold in the past twenty years to £71,000
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8/35 Japan prays for good business
People line up at the Kanda Myojin Shrine to pray at the start of the new business year in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2016. Several thousand company representatives traditionally visit the shrine on the first day of business in the new year to ask for luck and commercial fortune.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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9/35 Ferrari shares open at 43 euros in Milan bourse debut
Ferrari's model cars are seen in front of the Milan's stock exchange, downtown Milan, Italy January 4, 2016. Ferrari shares opened at 43 euros in their Milan bourse debut on Monday as the luxury sports car maker completed its spin-off from parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, establishing the Agnelli family as its biggest investor.
REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
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10/35 China stocks down 7% forcing trading to be suspended
An investor takes a nap in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Beijing, China, January 4, 2016. China's benchmark CSI300 share index tumbled 7 percent on the first session of 2016 on Monday, prompting the stock exchange to halt trading for the rest of the day. The "circuit breaker" suspension mechanism first came into effect on Monday.
REUTERS/Li Sanxian
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11/35 Fairbairn warning to Government
Ministers have been told by the new head of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn that they must not allow politics “to trump prosperity” in 2016. She singled out the delay in the Heathrow expansion decision and the expected European Union referendum
NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images
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12/35 Apple to pay £234m to Italian authorities to settle tax dispute
Apple has agreed to pay €318 million to settle a tax dispute with the Italian authorities. The payout comes after Italian prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Apple failed to pay around €879 million in corporation tax.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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13/35 Argos recalls Nevaboard hoverboards over electrocution fears
Argos have recalled a model of hoverboard over fears that it could electrocute users. Argos said that Nevaboard hoverboards, supplied by Debut Sports, do not comply with technical standards and could pose a risk of electrocution. The UK's National Trading Standards organisation has said that 88 per cent of the 17,000 hoverboards that have been examined at UK entrypoints, including airports, are deemed to be unsafe because of the risk of them overheating, exploding or catching fire.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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14/35 Janet Yellen
Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference where she announced that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2008 at the bank's Wilson Conference Center December 16, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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15/35 Milan Fashion Week
Profits at the Italian luxury goods group Prada fell 38 per cent in the quarter to 31 October, hit by slumping sales in China. Europe and Japan were the only two areas that saw modest growth for the fashion house, whose 2016 lines were modeled at the Milan Fashion Week. But a strong dollar held back travelers headed to the United States.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images
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16/35 We have lift-off!
A man in a space suit watches a television with school children at the Science Museum ahead of the launch of space mission Principia in London. European Space Agency Astronaut Tim Peake is the first publicly funded Briton in Space. The value of the space sector in the UK has grown from £6.5 billion in 2007 to £11.8 billion in 2014. It currently employs nearly 35,000 skilled workers, with current government ambitions for the sector to grow to £40 billion by 2030 and a further 100,000 jobs.
Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images
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17/35 Jean Claude Juncker
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker jokes with a Member of the European Parliament ahead of a debate on the future of the Economic and Monetary Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, December 15, 2015
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
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18/35 Fancy chancing your arm?
A robot arm, developed by Nachi Robotic Systems was on show at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Wednesday December 3. The Bank of England recently published research that 15 million UK jobs could be at risk of automation in the coming decades.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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19/35 Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes is the only woman that has made it on the Forbes magazine “America’s richest entrepreneurs under 40” list. Elizabeth Holmes who founded the blood-testing company Theranos came sixth with $4.5 billion (£2.9 billion). Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg topped the ranking with $47.1 billion.
Kimberly White/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
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20/35 Peppa pig
Peppa set out to hog the market - The film and TV distribution company Entertainment One said it was on course to double merchandise sales for the pre-school favourite Peppa Pig to $2bn (£1.3bn) by 2020. Sales of Peppa toys will begin in China next year, following the launch of the TV show there. E1's underlying annual profits climbed by 42 per cent to £52m, on sales up 2 per cent at £337m.
Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
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21/35 Paris attacks
The Eiffel Tower illuminated with the French national colors in tribute to the victims of the November 13, 2015 Paris terror attacks. Tourism and travel stocks fell on Monday in the wake of Friday’s jihadist attacks in Paris – as a leading European policymaker warned that the killings could compound the region’s economic woes.
AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY
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22/35 Blue diamond
A model holds a 12.03-carat blue diamond during a press preview by auction house Sotheby's in Geneva on November 4, 2015. A 12.03-carat blue diamond could fetch a record $55 million (47 million Euros) when it goes under the hammer by Sotheby's on November 11 in Geneva. Categorised as a fancy vivid blue diamond, the Blue Moon, discovered in South Africa in January last year, is the largest cushion-shaped stone in that category to ever appear at auction
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
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23/35 Burberry profit warning
Burberry shares were down 12 per cent after it missed forecasts for sales in the first half of 2015 as Chinese customers cut back on luxury goods.
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24/35 Is Go Pro caught on camera?
Polaroid's owner C&A is suing Go Pro over its Hero4 Session camera, claiming the ice-cube shaped device is a rip-off of the Polariod Cube camera and infringes its patent. Shares in Go Pro, which denied the announcement, fell to an all-time low.
Alamy
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25/35 UK to conduct its own inquiry into vehicle testing as BMW hit by fallout
In the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal BMW shares have fallen by more than 5 per cent after claims one of its models exceeded European emissions limits by more than 11 times.
DPA/Getty Images
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26/35 Starbucks to help staff with rent deposits
The coffee chain will provide an interest-free loan to pay a rental deposit that should be repaid within 12 months
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27/35
Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix has said that companies greatly underestimate the importance of reference checks when hiring
YouTube/Screen shot/KPCB
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28/35 Cold winter for Volkswagen
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn ousted over diesel emissions that could cause thousands of premature deaths
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29/35 Groupon cuts down its workforce
Groupon has cut 10% of its workforce and closed its operations in 7 countries. When it went public in 2011 it was valued at $12.8bn
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30/35 Eastern Promise
Britain's Chancellor George Osborne has urged closer business ties with China when he visited Shanghai, the country's commercial hub, on Tuesday. He declared that the UK and China will "stick together", despite stock market turmoil and faltering economic growth in the world's second-largest economy.
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31/35 United going down
Manchester United's absence from the Champions League hurt more than the fans' pride last year - it also dented the bottom line. Revenues at the New Uork listed club dipped 8.8 per cent to £395.2m in the year to June, triggering a £1.2 million loss after broadcasting and sponsorship deals dried up. The club said it was now looking to raise $400m from a share issue.
2015 Manchester United FC
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32/35 Star Wars boosts economy
Production of the next Star Wars movie has brought an economic impact of some £150 million to Britain, according to company accounts. The seventh movie in the series, The Force Awakens, will be released in December.
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33/35 Natalie Massenet Leaves Net-a-Porter
The Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet decided to quit the online fashion retailer during "a summer of reflection" that included a spectacular 50th birthday party on the Almalfi coast.
Copyright (c) 2015 Rex Features. No use without permission.
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34/35 I'll keep working, says Mayer
The chief executive of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, said that she was expecting twin girls in December. She said she would "approach the pregnancy and delivery the same way as I did with my son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout". In 2012, she took two weeks off when her first child was born.
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35/35 World's richest lose $182b
Warren Buffett, the world’s third richest person, lost $3.6bn in last week’s market slump
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Rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are binding to countries which have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights, including the UK.
Home Secretary, Theresa May details surveillance plan
Lawyer Michael Burd, Head of Employment at London firm Lewis Silkin, told Bloomberg: “This decision is significant for a number of European countries. There’s been a very strict division between employers’ ability to look at private stuff and employers’ ability to look at company stuff and this decision will break that down.
“What’s significant about this case is that they were allowed to use the content, not simply the fact of using Yahoo.”
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