Email monitoring rules delayed

A long-awaited code on monitoring staff email has been further delayed, and newly-appointed Information Commissioner Richard Thomas says it won't be released until he's happy with it.

The Information Commission has struggled for two years to produce a clear set of rules that would enable businesses to check email use without falling foul of data protection laws.

In November, senior commission officers insisted that the report was simply waiting to be signed off once Thomas took up his post in December.

But Thomas has now revealed that the code had not been ready.

'Before passing judgement, I wanted to see the complete version. This arrived on my desk at the start of the week,' he said.

Thomas' concern about the delay is matched by employers's worries that the code will prove too cumbersome.

'One thing that is clear to me: we will need to produce a version for small businesses. They won't welcome 50 to 60 pages to wade through,' he said.

Thomas remains adamant that despite the pressure mounting for the code to be released he will not approve it until he is satisfied.

Both employer and employee bodies have recently called for the guidelines to be released. The Trade Union Congress and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have said that rules for monitoring email should be a priority.

The Information Commission first published its data protection draft proposals back in 2000. Since then, three rounds of consultation have failed to produce definitive guidance.

Thomas promises a 'commonsense' approach to data protection issues. He intends to push the benefits of protecting personal information, such greater trust from customers.

'I'll keep the full range of sanctions available to me to deal with those that are ill-intentioned from the outset,' he said.

His main concern is to identity theft of personal data that may be used to access bank accounts and obtain passports.

But he promised to keep an eye on issues raised by direct marketing and credit reference agencies.