Two legitimate statements in search of legal doctrine: ¿An employee must have a reasonable expectation of privacy.¿ ¿The efficient operation of the company must be safeguarded.¿

As a lawyer considers each of these assertions, a significant region of incompatibility emerges. In the context of the use of information technology systems in the workplace, a collision of rights is exposed that has engendered a virtual battleground in the theory and practice of labour law.

This remarkable and timely book draws together all the strands of law in this controversial area, both de facto and de jure. Its comprehensive coverage includes such eminently useful materials as the following:

The authors¿ focus on practice is advantageous, as it brings the central issues and conflicts into high relief. The close analysis and investigation of how employers, trade unions, and legislative and advisory bodies are dealing with the essential matters¿which include communications facilities at work, employer¿s prerogative, the company¿s rights of ownership and disposal, and the fundamental privacy rules of legitimate purpose, proportionality, and transparency¿provide very valuable guidance to parties in any country concerned with developing a viable set of legal principles and rules for this challenging and unsettled area of labour law.