Something about workplace privacy.

Working at best practice

Employers should implement best practice when it comes to maintaining privacy in the workplace. It is important for employers, employees and their representatives to know what information may be collected and retained by employers and whether it can be passed on to others. Best practice creates certainty and security for both employers and employees.

What is privacy?

Privacy is the word we give to being able to keep certain information to ourselves and to control what happens to our personal information. It also refers to being able to do things without interference by others. Privacy issues can arise in all aspects of life.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information that identifies a person. There are some obvious examples of personal information such as a person's name or address. Personal information can also include photos, credit history information, bank account details and even information about what a person likes, their opinions and where they work - basically any information where the person is reasonably identifiable.

What is workplace privacy?

Employers will have access to personal information about employees. This information may be sensitive and employees may wish to keep this information private. This means that employers will need to think about the way in which they collect, use and disclose information they obtain from employees.

In many cases, Commonwealth privacy laws will not apply when it comes to employee records. Commonwealth privacy laws only apply to employee personal information if the information is used for something that is not directly related to the employment relationship between the employer and the employee. Nonetheless, best practice employers think carefully about any personal information that they have about their employees and treat that information in accordance with the privacy standards set out in the APPs.

It is good privacy practice for employers to tell employees when they collect their personal information. In doing so, the employer could tell the employee why they are collecting the information and who the employer might pass that information on to.

Best practice employers allow employees to access personal information about themselves which is held by their employer. Employees should also be able to have that information corrected or verified if it is incorrect, out of date or incomplete.

Checklist for best practice on workplace privacy

• Is there a policy and practice on how employee personal information is collected and handled?
• If so, how is the policy and practice communicated to staff and how are people made aware of it? How is it made available to employees?
• Does the business only collect and retain information about employees that is necessary?
• Is personal information held by the business complete and up-to-date?
• Does the business retain personal information in a secure way?
• When providing information to a third party, has the business ensured that it has complied with its own privacy obligations? For example, if information is being provided to meet a lawful request, has the business only provided information that is necessary to comply with that request?
• Does the business have policies in place about use of electronic equipment which sets out appropriate personal and business use and which makes clear how the business monitors employee use of electronic equipment?