Virtual working has slowly but steadily become an integral part of the working of most organizations helping build long lasting relationships all over the world, even if they are via electronic means. Infact the 21st century has been touted as the millenium wherein email will be a dominant medium for interpersonal telecommunication; ‘approaching if not overshadowing voice’
Policies have been set up by companies & laws by the government to ensure fair & smooth functioning online helping to maintain the employment relationships.
An online privacy policy protects the information given by a person & does not allow to sell, rent or own it unless consented by the individual concerned.
An online pay policy ensures that e-workers are paid at the regular intervals agreed upon, by the means agreed upon like cheque, direct debit etc so that the amount, method & timing of wage payments comply with the applicable laws & regulations.
An email policy ensures control over content sent across by employees only if it has been notified in advance that emails are intended for business purpose only & are the sole propriety of the employer giving him/her the right to access, review & monitor any data that is stored or transmitted. This is usually done during initiating the online relationship by making employees sign a form expressing consent to the monitoring. Pop Up messages also act as a reminder to employees about the email policy in place.
The Data Protection Act 1998, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Wiretap Act etc are some of the other commonly used regulations by the Government to ensure fair monitoring of data & privacy protection.
