There is no English law which prevents invasion of privacy as such - this was confirmed by the House of Lords as recently as 2003 (see Wainwright v Home Office [2003] UKHL 53). However there is a general right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (art 8(1) provides that "Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence"). While strictly speaking not incorporated into British law, the ECHR is relevant in the UK (see Human Rights/Human Rights Act 1998/a general note ).

Although there is no right to privacy as such in Britain, the courts are gradually developing a right to protect private information by developing the tort of breach of confidence. To achieve this, the jurisprudence of ECHR art 8, along with art 10 (which deals with the right to freedom of expression) is being "shoehorned" by the English courts into this tort of breach of confidence (see Ash v McKennitt [2006] EWCA Civ 1714, Court of Appeal on 14th December 2006, para 8(ii)).

go to next updated reference in this note.

The extent to which an action for breach of confidence can be used successfully where there is no pre-existing relationship of confidence between the parties has not yet been fully explored and is still developing. Not surprisingly, the lead is being taken in cases involving celebrities but nevertheless the principles being established will be of general relevance (see for example Douglas and Zeta-Jones & anor v Hello Ltd & anor [2005] EWCA Civ 595). Whether the personalities involved do or do not generally court publicity is likely to be relevant in those cases (as it was in the Ash v McKennitt case noted above) but of course is not likely to be an important consideration in normal employment law related cases.

OFTEL, at the request of the Home Office, has issed guidance for companies which provide telephones for employees. The guidance points out that companies which do not provide guarantees of confidentiality for telephone calls made by their employees risk being in breach of Article 8 of the Europe Convention on Human Rights

The guidance suggests that companies which record telephone calls should ensure that their employees are able to make outgoing personal calls that are not recorded. It suggests that "one way of doing this would be for an employer to provide adequate access to payphones in the workplace with an undertaking that they will not be subject to any form of recording or monitoring".

The guidance also suggests that employees should be made aware that personal conversations could be recorded and that they should have access to a separate telephone on the premises where they can receive incoming personal calls that are not recorded.

The Information Commissioner's Office Technical Guidance Notes webpages are an essential source of practical information on all aspects of data protection.

See also notes at Data protection/e-mail and internet policies and/or Data protection/Code of Practice/Monitoring staff - part 3 and/or Human Rights/vetting job applicants .