Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Contents

Page
Overview
1Summary
2Further Information
3History
4Approval
5Review / 1
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1
1
1
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Key Information
A summary for all staff
1.Policy
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Statement
3Misuse / Abuse
4Private / Personal use
3.1Post
3.2Telephone calls
3.3E-mail
5Monitoring
6Video Surveillance / 2
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3
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3
3
Primary Information
More detailed information and good practice guidelines for staff who use College
communication systems.
1Use of e-mail
2Use of Internet / 4
4
5
Appendices
Appendix A IT Acceptable Use Statement - Staff
Appendix B Legal Framework
1Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)
2The Data Protection Act 1998
3The Human Rights Act 1998
This document is available in large print or in an alternative format that meets your needs. Please contact the HR Officer.  / 6
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May 2001 / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Overview

1.Summary

This document gives the College's policy on the use and monitoring of communication systems for both private and work purposes. It gives guidance on what constitutes unacceptable use and explains the College's action in response to inappropriate use.

2. Further Information

Director of Corporate Services

IT Manager

Personnel Manager

3. History

This is a new policy.

It was written by the Vice Principal (Julia Dingle) based on guidance from employment law specialists and the AoC. The content was agreed with the IT Manager (Mark Taylor).

Further consultation included

  • Principalship (Roy Snelling, Julia Dingle, Pat Thompson, Rod Wheat)
  • SMT
  • Personnel Manager (Hazel Ford)
  • IT Manager (Mark Taylor)
  • Estates Manager (Chris McCulloch)
  • Central Services Manager (David Simons)
  • NATFHE Branch Representative (Luisa Staff)
  • UNISON Shop Steward (Angela George)

4. Approval

The policy was approved by the Senior Management Team on 14 May 2001.

5. Review

This document will be reviewed annually by the Senior Management Team. 

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Key Information

A summary for all staff

1. Policy

1.1 Purpose

To ensure that staff understand what constitutes misuse / abuse of the College's communications systems that can lead to :

harassment and discrimination, intentional or inadvertent revelation of confidential information

junk e-mail, copyright infringement, wasting / draining of College and computer resources / capabilities

e-mail forgery, defamation.

1.2 Statement

When using the College's communications systems staff are expected to follow the guidance in this document at all times.

College communication systems are primarily for work-related purposes. Staff are permitted to use College systems for private use provided that they adhere to these guidelines. Total confidentiality of such use cannot be guaranteed. Private use means for personal or domestic reasons not business transactions.

The College reserves the right to routinely monitor all in-coming and out-going communication to ensure that no misuse / abuse of systems is taking place and to ensure that all communication relevant to the College's business is dealt with promptly. Use of systems may be recorded for the purposes of preventing and detecting misuse / abuse by any user.

Staff should be aware that breach of these guidelines may amount to misconduct and may lead to invoking the disciplinary procedure. Repeated breaches or a serious breach could lead to dismissal.

2.Misuse / Abuse

The Primary Information Section of this document gives detailed guidance.

Staff are advised that they must at all times act responsibly in their communications with others. It is never acceptable to cause offence whatever form of communication is used. Other College policies, e.g. Harassment and Data Protection, apply at all times.

E-mail and to access the Internet provides new opportunities, risks and liabilities. It is essential that employees using e-mail and the Internet read the key and primary information sections of this document to make themselves aware of the potential liabilities involved.

The abbreviated language often used in e-mails can itself inadvertently cause offence.

E-mails, even after they have been deleted, can be retrieved and can be used as evidence.

3.Private / Personal Use

3.1Post

Staff are permitted to use the College's system for personal mail provided that the correct postage is paid. Such mail would never be opened. However the College reserves the right to open unstamped mail if it is suspected that there is any misuse of the system. Such mail would be opened by the Assistant Director of Corporate Services and referred to the appropriate manager.

In-coming mail is always assumed to be College business. Mail marked as 'private', 'personal' or 'confidential' will not be opened provided that the recipient is in work. 

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Key Information

A summary for all staff

However, such mail will be opened by a line manager or supervisor if the member of staff is not available for more than 3 working days, for example when staff are on holiday or sick leave and no alternative arrangements are in place. Staff should not use the College address for private correspondence.

Mail received after a member of staff has left the College's employment will be opened by a line manager or supervisor. Personal mail opened in this way will be passed to Personnel to forward appropriately.

3.2Telephone Calls

Staff are permitted to make brief, local calls and take in-coming calls for personal reasons provided that

the duration is minimised, there is no interruption or detriment to College business, the call could not reasonably have been made outside of working time or on a personal mobile phone, they are exceptional not regular.

If staff have mobile phones at work they should only make or receive calls that do not interfere with their duties or other staff. Mobile phones should not be used at all in any learning environment.

3.3 E-mail

Staff are permitted to send and receive personal e-mails provided that

all guidance on the use of e-mail in the Primary Information section of this document is adhered to, there is no interruption or detriment to College business, the amount of use is reasonable (eg. 2 brief e-mails sent or received per working day, any attachments kept to a minimum).

If staff are long term absent their e-mails may be read by a line manager or supervisor with the Principal's permission. After a member of staff has left their e-mails will be forwarded to a line manager or supervisor.

Staff are permitted to use the College's Internet facility for personal use during their own time on the condition that it does not prevent the machine being used by someone else for College business. The guidelines in the Primary Information section of this document apply equally to personal use of the Internet.

4. Monitoring

Staff should be aware that although personal use of College systems is allowed such communication may be monitored. The College monitors internal and external e-mails and the use of the Internet. The use of both may be recorded. The College reserves the right to access any user's e-mails at any time for its legitimate purposes.

In order to ensure compliance with its legal obligations the College will undertake the following monitoring arrangements on an appropriate basis:

College equipment will be checked to ensure that no unauthorised software, copyrighted or improper material is being stored, individual Internet usage in terms of time spent and sites visited will be monitored, e-mails both in transit and storage may be subject to screening.

5. Video Surveillance

Staff should be aware that, for the safety and security of all, in public areas video recording equipment is used. Recordings are monitored and used to help identify individuals who behave unacceptably, for example carrying outs acts of violence, theft or vandalism. For the purposes of dealing with such behaviour only, relevant recordings may be kept for a limited period and may be passed to the Police to assist their investigations where a criminal act is suspected. •

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Primary Information

More detailed information and good practice guidelines for staff who use College communication systems

1.Use of e-mail

E - mail is a method of communication. All rules apply i.e. harassing or offensive behaviour is not acceptable. A specific problem of e-mail is that because it uses a truncated, abbreviated language offence may be taken where none was intended. When we communicate face to face with someone there are many ways in which we show that we do not intend to offend. This is through tone of voice, facial expression and other gestures. Special consideration has to be given to e-mail because these clues, that help the recipient interpret the meaning, are missing.

The following list is not exclusive but is intended as guidance on appropriate use of e-mail.

You must not

  • send abusive e-mails, even in response to abuse directed at you, such abuse should be immediately reported to your line manager
  • use e-mail to harass other users, fellow employees, or in any way to harass or threaten anyone in any manner
  • participate in chain or pyramid letters or similar schemes
  • send anything at all which is defamatory, users tend to regard e-mail like telephone calls and to be less discreet than they would in a letter. This increases the risk of defamatory statements. Therefore, sending personal e-mails from any system is discouraged
  • send unsolicited, irrelevant or inappropriate e-mails
  • replace one-to-one discussions where the latter would be more appropriate, for example, when making a complaint or criticism
  • forward material e-mailed to you personally to others, particularly to Internet newsgroups or mailing lists, without the permission of the originator
  • create e-mail congestion by sending trivial messages or unnecessarily copying e-mails. You should regularly delete unnecessary e-mails to prevent over-burdening the system
  • use anonymous mailing services to conceal your identity when mailing through the Internet, falsify e-mails to make them appear to originate from someone else, or provide false information to any Internet service which requests name, e-mail address or other details

You should

  • avoid sending excessively large e-mails or attachments unless absolutely necessary
  • before sending an attachment, ensure that the recipient(s) use the same software as was used to originate the attachment. Also, consider whether the use of an attachment adds to the value of the message; if not, keep it simple and send text
  • acknowledge incoming e-mail if it is received from an external source who may not have any means of knowing if the e-mail has arrived
  • inform the sender immediately and delete the message from the system if you receive an e-mail in error
  • take care to ensure that all data sent or received is virus-free
  • be aware of the responsibilities that result if you have your e-mail address published in any media
  • avoid the inappropriate use of upper case in e-mail as it is generally interpreted as SHOUTING
  • reflect in the body of the message if the message is sent to multiple addresses. Not all recipients can properly identify "copy" addresses. 

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Primary Information

More detailed information and good practice guidelines for staff who use College communication systems

Legal considerations

  • advice given on e-mail has the same legal bearing as any other written advice. For formal communications a permanent record needs to be kept
  • you must make sure that the appropriate authority has been obtained before transmitting any college information or advice
  • you must retain hard copies of any e-mails sent during the course of contract negotiations or in other appropriate instances
  • you must not enter into any contractual agreements using e-mail without the explicit consent of your manager. Any commercial correspondence engaged in must be in line with the College financial regulations
  • you must ensure that no copyright / licensing laws are breached when composing or forwarding e-mails and e-mail attachments. The responsibility for determining whether material is subject to any copyright / licensing laws rests solely with you. Where this cannot be determined then the material must not be used
  • if you receive copyrighted material via e-mail or the Internet, you will breach copyright if you pass it on to a third party
  • you must not transmit confidential, personal or other sensitive information via e-mail, unless authorised to do so or appropriate encryption is applied
  • e-mail communications, either internally or externally, are not guaranteed to be private nor to arrive at their destination either within a particular time, or at all.

2.Use of Internet

  • you must restrict your use of the Internet to work related matters only in College time
  • you are reminded that during your contractual hours you must devote your time and attention to the College's business
  • you may use the Internet for personal "surfing" outside of your normal College working hours. Use of the Internet during normal working hours is confined solely to research / data collection in relation to the employee's normal duties
  • you must not view or download any obscene or discriminating material
  • you must not use the Internet to download and subsequently re-use any software for which the College is not licensed. The responsibility for determining whether software is licensed or not rests solely with you. Where this cannot be determined then the software must not be downloaded
  • the responsibility to ensure that any information used from the Internet is free from any copyright restriction / licensing laws rests solely with you. Where this cannot be determined then the material must not be used
  • staff who place information on the College Website must make every effort to ensure that such information is free from inaccuracy or defamatory statements and does not infringe copyright
  • no material of any kind which is generally considered to be either offensive or sexually explicit may be viewed or stored on College equipment. Any member of staff found searching for, or in possession of such material, shall be considered to have committed a serious offence which will be dealt with by the application of the formal College Disciplinary procedure. 

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Appendix A

Statement on Acceptable Use - Staff

College IT facilities are to be used for work and research. When using these facilities it is not acceptable to:

  • Play games
  • Mistreat or tamper with equipment
  • Remove, deface or tamper with equipment markings or labels
  • Create or transmit any offensive, obscene or indecent images, data or other material Create or transmit material which is designed or likely to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety
  • Create or transmit defamatory material
  • Infringe copyright
  • Transmit unsolicited commercial or advertising material
  • Access facilities or services without authorisation
  • Waste staff effort or IT resources
  • Corrupt or destroy other users' data
  • Violate the privacy of other users
  • Disrupt the work of other users
  • Use the network in a way that denies service or access to other users (for example deliberate or reckless overloading of the system)
  • Continue to use a piece of equipment or software after a member of staff has requested you to stop using it
  • Introduce "viruses" into the system
  • Load software without the agreement of IT Support.

Failure to comply with the above may result in disciplinary action being taken against you.

If you encounter faulty IT equipment in the college please notify the IT Helpdesk who will ensure appropriate steps are taken to rectify the fault as soon as possible. 

May 2001 / Page - 1 - / Ref:POL0024

Use by Staff and Monitoring

Of College Communication Systems

Appendix B

Legal Framework

1. Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), together with Regulations issued pursuant to that Act, the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000, which came into force in October 2000 is a key piece of legislation.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), prohibits the interception of e-mails without first obtaining the consent of both the sender and the recipient. However, the Regulations, which came into force on 2 October 2000, provide an important exception to the general rule that communications may only be monitored with consent.

The Regulations enable businesses to intercept telecommunications without the consent of their employees for certain legitimate purposes, including detecting unauthorised use of the system and ensuring its efficient operation. However, the employer must make reasonable efforts to inform employees that communications may be monitored.

The Regulations enable businesses to

monitor or record without consent:

  • to establish the existence of facts
  • ascertain compliance with regulatory or self-regulatory practices or procedures
  • to ascertain or demonstrate the standards which ought to be achieved by persons using the business's system
  • preventing or detecting crime
  • public authorities: in the interests of national security
  • ensuring the effective operation of the system
  • to investigate or detect unauthorised use of the system.

monitor (but not record) without consent:

  • to determine whether they are relevant to business
  • communications to support or counselling helplines, if the helpline is provided free and on a confidential basis and operated in a way that users may remain anonymous if they choose.

2. The Data Protection Act 1998