Personal Email In Business: What Does The Law Say?

As in a private company, the mailbox provides several functionalities in the public service. On a technical level, it also authorizes the sending of personal email. From a legal point of view, its messaging for private purposes can be done under certain conditions. What are they?

Sending Personal Messages: Limits To Be Respected

Without the established prohibition of his employer, the law allows the sending of non-professional messages from his personalized webmail. According to the observations of the CNIL, it is strongly recommended to indicate the indication “private” or “personal” in the object. However, sending insulting or sexual email is strictly prohibited. Messages intended to harm the brand image of the company or a person are also banned.

Supervision Under Certain Conditions

Except for cases of force majeure, the mere precision of private content does not authorize the employer to spy on the correspondence of his employees. However, this restriction only applies to the content of emails. It is entirely possible to carry out technical surveillance. Among the controllable data, we can mention:

• the format of the attachments;
• the frequency of the shipments;
• the volume and size of messages.

Do Not Abuse Emails On A Personal Basis

Whether you have a SaaS (Software as a Service) messaging or a Mail to SMS service, it is recommended that you moderate your private sending. Abusing his work tool for personal purposes may result in his dismissal for disciplinary misconduct. Any unreasonable use is punishable. The presence of an internal IT charter can help define the limits of this practice. It provides a framework for better managing personal mailings while clearly showing the room for maneuver for its employees.

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