Principles that Should Govern the Right of Employers to Monitor Employee’s Computer Mediated Workplace Communication: Private Sector

Abstract

This paper explores the issues that arise from the surveillance of digital communications at the workplace and how New Zealand has addressed these issues. To achieve that purpose, this paper explores the two prevalent approaches to privacy rights at the workplace: The ownership of the resources (Anglo-American) and the continental Dignity-based (Europe). New Zealand has aligned itself with the Anglo American approach. This approach is less protective of employee’s privacy interests. This paper shall demonstrate that the legal protection of employees from electronic monitoring would be greatly improved by deriving those protections from "human dignity”.