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Thread: Seeking advice regarding unethical business practices:

  1. #11
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    If the mail was sent or received;

    • From or to an existing customer
    • From or to an employee at work
    • During company business hours
    • From a company PC
    • Using the companies ISP and bandwidth
    • From or to an email address on the company domain



    I would say that there would be no right or expectation of privacy. This is just an opinion and carries no legal weight, as Adrian suggested maybe wail for someone more qualified to comment.
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  2. #12
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    You are saying, by implication, that the boss can also listen in on your phone calls if the calls are made using a company phone. The fact that the communication medium is different doesn't mean that the content is less protected.

    Here is another question - what about the privacy of the person on the other end of the email, does the boss have the right to invade their privacy without their knowledge?

    A friend of mine flies A320's for SAA. Nobody may, under any circumstances other than those stipulated by law, listen to the cockpit voice recorders - why, because the conversations that the pilots have are considered private even though they are flying an SAA plane.

  3. #13
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    From a legal point of view I have no idea where the right to privacy at work starts or ends.

    If someone works for a company and communicates on a business level to other people outside that company then they do so as an agent of that company. Anything said by someone considered an agent of an organisation has legally binding implications. As such I would suggest it's not only a right of the boss or owner to monitor employees communications of any kind (phone, email, verbal or even sign language) it would actually be a responsibility.
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  4. #14
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyD View Post
    as Adrian suggested maybe wail for someone more qualified to comment.
    I'm with all of you on that one. A legal precedent on the admissability of the email evidence would be really handy right now.

    On the poaching of clients side of things, this moonlighting employees discussion seems relevant.

  5. #15
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    Thank you for your contribution adrianh - just to set the record straight, I would feel very uncomfortable executing or participating in phone-taps, spying or any other form of intelligence work in general however, I believe that one needs to consider the context which surrounds the motive in this particular scenario.

    I would imagine that cockpit voice recordings and probably most large aircraft and pilot conversations may be a matter of national security and/or a matter of international security post 911.

    Perhaps those stipulated by law, as you point out, have an invested interest in needing to know about those communications irrespective of a pilots privacy.

    As it turns out in my situation, the substance of the correspondence addressed to my client on a company email account using a company server, was misleading and completely untrue.

    There was a great deal more unethical activity which surrounds this particular individual and her peculiar behaviour, in addition to that previously mentioned.

    In all my years of dealing with people, locally and internationally for that matter - I can categorically state that I have never come across any individual who is as inherently dishonest and deceptive as in the case of this particular individual.

    She has only been involved with me in business for a few months and already the situation is untenable. It needs to reach some clear and final resolution as it is costing me time and money, not to mention an ineffable amount of stress.

    Just for the record, I am in no way interested in any aspect of her personal existence – it is purely a matter of the nature of business correspondence which is the subject in this instance.

    Thank you for your interest in furthering this discussion.

  6. #16
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    Very interesting, thank you for the link Dave A.

  7. #17
    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Was there no secrecy clause or a clause preventing moonlighting in her employment contract?

    Employment contracts are important as it forms the basis of the employer/employee relationship.
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

  8. #18
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    Hi Blurock, she came in as a partner and begged me to work on this specific clients contract – which I foolishly allowed, in retrospect...and due to the initial print deadline on this project I had not completed or entered into any written contractual agreement at that time as those details were still being negotiated. We did agree on certain fundamental industry criterion verbally though.
    I appreciate that verbal agreements are not as convincing and compelling as a written contractual agreement.

    May I just add that this was more of a blatant and bold bid to hijack my client than one of actual moonlighting per-se.

  9. #19
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Probably worth pointing out that if anything, the onus on partners to conduct themselves ethically is generally considered higher than on employees.

  10. #20
    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Personally, I would go all out to get rid of her any way I could. Don't need ppl you can't trust around you. You'll end up spending more time and mind energy checking up on her than you will concentrating on all your important stuff.

    Why not get an employment or partnership agreement drawn up, make sure you cover everything in extreme detail ( she'll get the message that you know ) and when it's time for signing, suggest that all the partners agree to back date it ( enough to cover the underhanded theft - yes, I would consider this theft, just as serious as stock theft ). Then point out that you know and demand her resignation. Time and effort doing the agreements is not wasted as you should have those in place anyway.
    Watching the ships passing by.

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