Introduction to Bring Your Own Device to Work Policy
As a matter of law employers must give their employees a written document which covers the key terms of the employment relationship. On top of this, it’s good practice for employers to have a staff handbook which includes the non-contractual policies and procedures. The staff handbook will sit alongside the employee’s terms and conditions of employment and the employer can use it to manage situations within the workplace and help avoid disputes.
Bring Your Own Device to Work Policy
It’s become more common in recent years for employers to allow their employees to use their own electronic devices to access the employer’s IT systems.
Giving employees access via their own portable electronic devices comes with an increased risk of data breach, either physical (such as leaving a device on public transport) or electronic (such as a result of hacking or malware). So, the key consideration for any employer when implementing a Bring your own device to work (BYOD) policy must be the security of both the device and company data.
A BYOD policy will potentially overlap with other company policies dealing with the use of IT equipment and data, such as the employer’s IT and Communications Systems policy and Data Protection policy. Even if an employer has these policies, it should still set out what is expected of the employee in respect to security of the device, the employer’s IT systems and any data it holds.
The BYOD policy does bring its own unique challenges as each employer will need to consider:
• How it will record and keep track of the devices used to access company data.
• What security measures will be installed on each employees’ device(s).
• What should happen if an employee loses a device, or it is stolen’.
• Whether the employer require the employee to hand over their device at the end of their employment so the employer can ‘wipe’ any apps or data from it.
We’ve prepared a draft Bring Your Own Device to Work Policy, which sets out what is expected from employees and other workers when they use their own devices for work. You can click here for our example policy to get you started, but you’ll need to make sure that any Bring Your Own Device to Work Policy you put in place sets out how you wish to deal with employees using their own devices.
This article and the policy are provided for general information purposes only and you should take specialist advice in relation to specific circumstances. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that what we say is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy, and Atkins Dellow LLP does not accept any liability for error or omission.
Atkins Dellow help clients all over the UK with legal matters including implementing concrete sets of policies as part of Employee handbooks. Every employer should have one. For more information get in touch with our team today on 0330 912 8338.
