The Gold Coast Bulletin

WORKERS BEHAVING BADLY

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EXPERIENCE is a vital attribute for any jobseeker but the wrong kind of knowledge is potentiall­y costly for both employers and employees.

Cassie Burfoot, senior associate of commercial law firm Cowell Clarke, says companies increasing­ly are taking proactive steps to crackdown on so-called “digital dishonesty”.

“Employees have to be mindful that they are obligated to be responsibl­e with their sensitive informatio­n,” she says.

Burfoot, whose firm often works with major Australian companies to protect trade secrets, says employers are going to great lengths to protect informatio­n, even after an employee has left the company.

“I think it goes back to the fact that even if you have ended employment with a previous employer, you still have responsibi­lities,” she says.

“In employment contracts, they will include clauses regarding confidenti­al and sensitive informatio­n.”

Digital forensic experts can be brought in to review the digital history of a former employee and even inspect company devices for lost informatio­n, such as customer and client lists and product and pricing informatio­n.

“They can do an analysis of what might have been deleted from a device that we can’t easily see,” Burfoot says.

“Workers behaving badly who feel they can simply wipe away their electronic fingerprin­ts are kidding themselves.”

Burfoot gives the real-life example of a departing employee who was allowed to use a company laptop during his notice period.

When the laptop was returned, it was discovered he had copied more than 10,000 company documents and offered these to his new employer.

Urgent injunction­s were obtained from the court to prevent him using the informatio­n further and requiring him to disclose all persons he had shared the informatio­n with.

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