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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
Dear Linda,
Apologies for the delayed reply.
Staff emails can be monitored but generally the staff need to be told in advance that this will happen. Accordingly, an employee's password should not be changed to access his/her inbox. There are exceptions to this general rule, such as where the action is necessary in the investigation of a crime; but generally it should not be done. If your business is faced with a particular set of circumstances related to this issue, you could contact my colleague, William Malcolm, a data protection specialist. William can be reached on 0141 249 5442.
Regards,
John
John Salmon
Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
I'd suggest you give my colleague Tom Stocker a call on 0131 225 0043 to discuss this. Tom is one of our Senior Associates and a specialist in health and safety.
Regards,
John Salmon
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
I think you should speak directly with the Licensing Authority. They do require a licence if you have a TV; but my understanding is that they distinguish the rules for other types of equipment and in the circumstances you describe I'd be surprised if you needed a licence when you're not receiving television broadcasts. You can call their advisors on 0870 241 6468.
Regards,
John
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
There is no need for a TV licence for sending your video and stills over a network. It is only if a 3G phone is used to receive live television broadcasts that a licence is required. And if the phone or computer user already has a home TV licence, an additional licence is unnecessary. As for PCs and laptops, if a broadcast card is used to watch or record TV broadcasts, a licence is required (again, an existing licence for the owner would cover him). However, a licence not necessary if the broadcast card is never used. More information is available from the TV Licensing Authority.
John Salmon
Partner, Pinsent Masons
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
Dear Glenn,
The rule is that written business communications need to include certain information about a company: it's place of registration, its registration number, and its registered address. This rule was written with printed stationery in mind. Not all emails will amount to written business communications. But if you want a one-size fits-all footer on your company emails, include all these details. Otherwise we can advise you on what emails should have this detail and what emails should not and the relative risks - all of which will depend on the nature of your business and your uses of email communications.
Contact me if you want to discuss this further: john.salmon@pinsentmasons.com.
Regards,
John
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
Indu,
In the absence of any agreement saying otherwise, an email can be sufficient bind a company in the same way as a traditional signature. There are exceptions - deals for buying land or buildings, for instance, or where there is an existing relationship that dictates how orders must be placed or accepted - e.g. using one party's standard forms.
Sometimes there will be a written agreement between two parties, saying that standard forms must be used. But sometimes both parties deviate from that practice and gradually become less formal in their dealings. The first time that one party deviates is the time to say that email is not good enough, because once both parties become used to doing business by email, undertakings can have the same effect as a written signature.
If you have a specific situation that you'd like us to give an opinion on, do get in touch: john.salmon@pinsentmasons.com / 0141 249 5411.
Regards,
John Salmon
Partner, Pinsent Masons
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
David,
To be safe, you should get permission.
First, there may be contractual issues. Did the conditions of entry to the motor show make any reference to photography? Were there any signs by the Renault stand that put conditions on photography? It is common at such events to impose conditions that require permission before using photographs for commercial purposes.
There may also be intellectual property issues. Renault will own the rights in its name, in its logo, brands and trade marks, and in the car itself. There will also be issues in respect of any sponsorship or third party branding which may appear on or around the car. The use of the photograph for commercial purposes (which will include promoting your business) will therefore be subject to these existing rights, and to avoid infringing these you should seek Renault's permission.
If you'd like to discuss this further, please call me on 0141 249 5411 or e-mail john.salmon@masons.com.
Regards,
John Salmon
Partner, Masons
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
Hi,
Could I ask that you contact my colleague William Malcolm on 0141 249 5442 to discuss this question? William is a data protection specialist and is expecting your call.
Apologies for the delay in this response: I thought this message had been sent to you sooner, but it appears that it was not.
Kind regards,
John Salmon
Partner, Masons
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
Webcams can be considered like CCTV and therefore to the extent that your webcam enables living individuals to be identified, you must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 because filming is a form of processing personal data.
In your case, if staff are being filmed it sounds as though you would be able to identify them and presumably you would also the be able to identify the members of the public on your courses, therefore, under the Act, you should be up-front about use of the cameras. The Act provides a possible exemption where the filming is carried out for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders and complying with the relevant provisions of the Act (eg. to tell people that you are filming them) would prejudice these purposes but this doesn't sound applicable in your case.
You can find a Code of Practice for CCTV issued by the Information Commissioner on www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk as well as a Code of Practice on the employer/employee relationship which refers to monitoring of staff. This explains the circumstances where covert monitoring can be justified.
In your case, it sounds as though you are absolutely right to ask for notices to be put up with the cameras. However, you may not need to go so far as to ask members of the public to sign a consent form if, under the Act, you can argue that it is in your legitimate business interests to use the cameras and your interests are not outweighed by any harm or prejudice to the individuals concerned - therefore if you use notices and take account of any legitimate objections, this may be sufficient.
If you want further help, please e-mail me at John.Salmon@masons.com.
Regards,
John Salmon
Partner, Masons
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John Salmon
Member - 10 posts
The answer to your question depends on the nature of the data you plan to hold. Different categories of data can be kept for different periods. The Information Commissioner's recommendations for how to assess employee data retention periods are set out in Part 2 of the Employment Practices Data Protection Code. You can find this at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
All computer files containing personal data will be covered by the data protection act, some paper files may not be covered. It all depends on how structured your file sets are. Again you can find guidance on this at the OIC site or contact me at john.salmon@masons.com.
Regards,
John Salmon
Partner, Masons
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