Work contacts could be employer's property
Wed 2 Jul 2008
30/06/2008
Contacts made through social networking sites accessed at work could belong to employers. London's high court has ruled an employee who migrated his work contacts to his new business should return them. "The decision, in an ongoing case over ownership of client contacts, demonstrates once again the difficulty employers have in managing employee use of sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Bebo," said barrister, Joseph Dalby. Mark Ions, a recruitment company employee, allegedly uploaded a contacts database that was the property of his employer, the Irish Times has reported. As part of his defence, Mr Ions claimed he was encouraged by his bosses to use the social networking site, LinkedIn, which is popular amongst the business community. The Trades Union Council has advised: "Employees have a right to a personal life, and provided they do not breach reasonable conduct guidelines, employers should respect this."
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