Privacy and Employment Law

Workplace privacy is not simply a theoretical legal issue but is a matter of basic human dignity. Employers in a number of countries reportedly,and, it appears, in increasing numbers, are deploying human resource policies which may or may not be illegal. In many cases they are not, at present unlawful, though they may reflect dubious management practices. These policies include drug testing of employees, surveillance of staff and their communications, attempts to censor the freedom of speech of employees, psychometric or personality testing, and requirements to provide intimate health information irrelevant to work in order to obtain employment or promotion.

This book, the first on the subject in any jurisdiction, examines in a rigorous and open-minded fashion, the emergence of these policies in the modern employment context and the gradually developing legal response. Adopting a human rights perspective, the author demonstrates that several legal systems are now transposing human rights law from the public sphere into the employment relationship in order to protect the individual rights of job candidates and employees. The human right of privacy is one of the cornerstone rights recognised in the employment context, and is the focus of this book.

The book deals with the law as it presently stands in the UK, France, the USA and Canada and includes a careful analysis of the potential impact of the Human Rights Act 1999.