Hard line on email abuse is heading to Europe

In the week that BT has revealed the sacking of 200 staff for email abuse, new research suggest we may see more of the same if trends developing in the US are repeated this side of the Atlantic.

Companies are increasingly losing patience with 'cyber loafers' in the workplace and are also growing concerned about their legal position when email-related offences, such as the distribution of obscene material, are committed on their network.

Research conducted by web filtering firm Clearswift in the US, revealed that nearly a quarter of companies have sacked somebody for email abuse. This should send out a warning to European employees whose bosses often adopt US trends.

Paul Rutherford, chief marketing officer of Clearswift, believes many employees relaxed attitude to sending personal emails at work lies at the heart of the problem.

"Off-the-cuff, casual email conversations among employees are exactly the type of messages that tend to trigger lawsuits, arm prosecutors with damaging evidence, and provide the media with embarrassing real-life disaster stories," he said in a statement. "The fact that 90 per cent of respondents send and receive personal email at work compounds the problem."

The survey also found that almost a third (31 per cent) of staff spend at least two hours per day on personal email.

Many companies are taking the threat of litigation seriously - with 75 per cent of firms laying down email policies. However, many are failing to make the final step and educate their staff. Less than half the companies with email policies actively train their staff on how to follow the finer points of the policy.

Clearswift's Rutherford added: "Email is a great communications tool; but it is not without its shortcomings. These statistics reveal and solidify the idea that companies need to be proactive in understanding how to protect their confidential information assets and train employees how to maximise productive use of email."

To date, there have been a number of high-profile European cases of email abuse. Among the most notable have been the Dell employee who was sacked for including a member of senior management on an 'inappropriate' email and the notorious episodes of over-night sensations Clare Swire and Trevor Luxton whose very public indiscretions dragged their companies into disrepute.

But while some are laughed off, others are taken far more seriously, as seen this week with BT's hard line stance.