Following the reform of Art. 4 of the Workers’ Charter, it is essential to have internal regulations on work tools and company systems, as well as on any data stored on them, in order not to endanger the business and management of the company.
Reform of the Workers’ Charter – Art. 4
As a result of the reform of Article 4 of the Workers’ Charter, work tools (personal computers, tablets, smartphones, etc.) are excluded from the obligation to reach a trade union agreement or, alternatively, to obtain administrative authorisations. This provision applies even in the case their use is related to the monitoring of workers’ activities remotely. For company safety, asset protection or work organisation tools and systems, however, the need for a prior trade union agreement, or the appropriate administrative authorisation still applies.
However, it is not always easy to distinguish the former from the latter. However, it is certain that we need to pay close attention to the issue.
For the employer’s use of any data deriving from all the tools, it is necessary to draw up a company policy on the tools and systems (whether work-related or not), and evaluate its relationship with privacy matters (regulations and policies). Failure to do so exposes employers to penalties of a very variable nature and amount: from penal sanctions, to fines for non-compliance and prohibition to use data stored in the corporate systems.
Our consultancy: audit and drafting of policies
Our support comprises two phases:
- firstly, conduct of an audit on the tools and processes in place, since only a comprehensive picture and faithful analysis of the situation can help determine what requirements must be met;
- Finally, once the work tools have been identified, it will be possible to implement internal regulations on work tools and company systems.
Contact Lawyer Aldo Bottini, Partner of the Firm and Head of the Corporate Policies Team, concerning matters relevant to Art. 4.
