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Workplace Privacy

Employees and Workplace Privacy

No matter what the circumstances, all businesses, from the largest multinational corporation to the local retailer, are faced with issues of workplace privacy when dealing with their staff. Employers must collect large amounts of personal information about their employees in order to administer the employee relationship.

Employers need to consider privacy in a number of circumstances, such as when:

  • conducting reference and background checks;
  • engaging in employee monitoring and surveillance;
  • determining the information that goes in the employee's file;
  • administering pay and health benefits; or
  • providing employees' personal information to third party outsourcers.

While the need to consider issues of workplace privacy is common to all businesses, this does not mean the issues are identical for all employers. Individual considerations will arise depending on which legislative privacy regime prevails in the province where business is conducted. Moreover, unique issues will arise for unionized and non-unionized workforces.

When is an employee's expectation of privacy justified? What should your employee privacy policy look like? We have the answers to your many workplace privacy questions.

Contact PrivaTech Consulting to help you better understand employers' privacy responsibilities in Canada, and to develop customized solutions that work for your business.