Employer´s Right To Access Employee´s E-Mail

A new collective agreement between Israel's largest workers union and one of its largest employer organizations, signed on June 25, 2008, addresses the question of access by an employer to an employee's email account at work. The agreement aims to balance between the employer's right to property and the employee's right to privacy, and provides the following general provisions:

• The employer may establish rules regarding the use of the workplace computer, including policies with respect to use of certain programs or accessing certain websites. Any such rules and policies must be brought to the attention of the employees.

• The employee must use the workplace computer for work purposes, but s(he) may, within a reasonable scope and for a reasonable period of time, also use it for private purposes which are protected by privacy rules, so long as such activities are not illegal.