It’s important your client is becoming concerned about this because new figures have shown that the number of High Court cases against employees stealing confidential data increased by 25% from 2015 to 2016. The increase is being contributed to by the introduction of new technology that makes it easier to access data and increasing staff turnover.
Your client can consider the following areas to prevent their employees stealing confidential data:
- The company should have a well drafted policy covering all aspects of confidential data, from a policy on handling confidential data to an email policy. These policies should outline the rules for handling data, inform staff of their obligation to keep data safe and set out how to avoid a data breach. Any specific rules your client has or wishes to introduce, such as a ban on sending emails from company email accounts to personal email accounts, must be clearly included in these policies.
- Full training on handling data and avoiding an accidental, or intentional, data breach should be given to all staff. Following the introduction of a new piece of technology or software, further training should be carried out to make staff aware of the rules applying to this.
- All employees work under an implied term of fidelity, however, not many will be aware of this. To deter those in roles that require handling data, express contractual clauses regarding confidentiality can be used. This is an effective deterrent as staff will be aware that they will breach their own contract if they do steal confidential data.
- Introducing restrictive covenants concerning the use of confidential data after employment ends will also be a useful method to avoid data theft. Employees who are leaving the company will be less likely to steal confidential data as they will be aware that, if they use this information after their employment ends, they will be subject to legal action by your client.
To prevent employees stealing data during their notice period, especially where they are going to a competitor, your client could place them on garden leave for the duration of their notice. During garden leave, the leaving employee remains employed and they continue to be bound by their contractual terms, including any terms regarding confidentiality or fidelity. They do not, however, have to attend work so cannot access any software or systems that contain confidential data. This reduces the risk of employee data theft.
