Considerations on the conditions under which the employer may monitor their employees at the workplace

Recently, the European Court of Human Rights in the case Barbulescu v. Romania has ruled that the national courts did not ensure respect for the right to privacy in the employment relationship of an employee who had been disciplinary dismissed for using the internet and an IT application in the personal interest during the working hours, dismissal which was based on evidence obtained after the employer had monitored the employee’s electronic communications. The Court concluded that the national courts failed to strike a fair balance between the employee’s right to private life at the workplace and the employer’s right to supervise and control the work of his employees. Thus, the Court found a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. In its decision, the Court specified the criteria to be applied by the national authorities in order to achieve a balance between the rights of the two parties (employee-employers). The herein study aims to briefly analyze the case and to establish the concrete elements that employers should consider if they intend to monitor their employees in order not to violate their right to private life at the workplace of the latter.