Isle of Wight Council
Electronic Mail
Acceptable Use Policy
Contents
1 Introduction2 Scope
3 Policy Updates
4 User Awareness
5 Provision of Service
6 The Use of E - Mail
7 Good Practice
8 Personal Use of E - Mail
9 Prohibited Uses
10 Monitoring
11 Confidentiality
12 Contracts
13 Untoward Incidents
14 Breach of Policy
15 Further Information
16 History
1 Introduction
1.1 The Council makes extensive use of electronic mail (e-mail) both within the organisation and with external organisations using the Internet e-mail system.
1.2 The facilities to provide this service represent a considerable commitment of Council resources in respect of telecommunications, networking, security, software and support as well as significant costs. They also represent a significant risk if they are not used correctly.
1.3 This document is intended to define in a clear and straight-forward manner what those risks are and the conditions under which the Council’s e-mail systems might be used.
top of page2 Scope
2.1 This policy applies to employees, members and all other users of the Council’s e-mail services.
2.2 The policy applies equally to basic e-mail messages and to any attachments sent with messages. For ease of reading, the term e-mail is used to refer to both basic messages and to any attachments and other associated files throughout the remainder of this document.
2.3 The Council has a separate ‘Internet / Intranet - Acceptable Use Policy’ which covers the more general use of these services.
top of page3 Policy Updates
3.1 This policy will be amended from time to time in response to changing circumstances as e-mail facilities develop and in response to operational and legislative requirements.
3.2 The Council will do its best to ensure that individual users are made aware of these changes when they occur.
3.3 The most current version of the policy will however always be available on the Council’s Intranet site and in paper form from the Personnel Department. As a condition of use, it is the responsibility of users to ensure that they keep up-to-date with the latest requirements of the policy.
top of page4 User Awareness
4.1 All Internet users will be required to sign the following statement before being allowed access to the Internet:
I have read the Council’s Electronic Mail Acceptable Use Policy
and fully understand the terms and conditions and agree to abide by them.
I understand that the Council’s security systems will record for management
use all e-mail activity undertaken by me including any material transmitted
or received.
I understand that violation of this policy may lead to disciplinary action and
could also lead to personal criminal prosecution
5 Provision of Service
5.1 The Council will provide e-mail services to all staff who have signed the User Awareness statement where this is reasonably practicable.
5.2 The Council does however reserve the right to withdraw this facility at the request of service managers and in the event that the facility becomes uneconomic or is being abused.
top of page6 The Use of E - Mail
6.1 E-mail users are responsible for the content of all text, audio and images that they send over the Council’s e-mail systems. The nature of the systems do however lend themselves to informal working practices and this can be dangerous.
6.2 As e-mail messages may have to be disclosed in litigation, it is always good practice for users to ask themselves before sending an e-mail message how they would feel if it was read out in court.
6.3 An e-mail message is, for legal purposes, treated as a publication and is therefore subject to all the normal legal restrictions on publication.
6.4 Data within e-mail is predominantly personal data and as such is subject to the provisions of Data Protection legislation. Users must ensure that they understand and comply with these requirements.
6.5 Users using the e-mail system to access Internet newsgroups and other Internet services must ensure that they comply fully with the requirements of the Council’s Internet / Intranet Acceptable Use Policy.
6.6 The printing of e-mail messages is largely unnecessary although it may not feel so initially. Users should consider developing the habit of dealing with all correspondence electronically, including on-line filing of any messages they wish to retain.
top of page7 Good Practice
7.1 The cost of an e-mail message to the Council is a fraction of the cost of an internal memo on paper or of any other form of communication, particularly when sent to multiple recipients.
7.2 The Council therefore recommends the use of e-mail wherever possible for any written communication unless it is inappropriate for one of the following reasons:
7.2.1 messages relating to staffing issues which include personal details (name, performance, discipline, salaries etc)
7.2.2 messages where there might be a contractual or other legal need to prove the identity of the sender, or to demonstrate the receipt of the message
7.2.3 messages to recipients who are not known to read their e-mail regularly - the existence of an e-mail address does not guarantee that the owner of that address actively uses it or checks it regularly
7.3 The informal nature of e-mail means that it is easy to cause offence. Users should:
7.3.1 take care that the tone of the message is clear - irony and humour for example may not be clear to the recipient unless it is someone who is known well
7.3.2 ensure that the tone of a message is respectful to recipients, regardless of their role and status
7.3.3 ensure particular care is taken with remarks that are, or might appear to be, critical of the recipient or another person - these can come across as much stronger than intended and might, in some instances, be considered defamatory
7.3.4 ensure that the originator of a message has no objection to it being forwarded before passing it on to a third party
7.4 Every e-mail message uses system resources and whilst the drain on the system of an unnecessary mail message might be slight, the cumulative effect of such behaviour by several thousand users can seriously degrade system performance and inconvenience others.
7.5 Users can contribute to effective performance by:
7.5.1 deleting messages which do not need to be saved
7.5.2 deleting saved messages which no longer need to be saved
7.5.3 deleting messages from the ‘sent mail’ and ‘trash’ folders on a regular basis
7.5.4 suspending receipt of messages from mailing lists if they will not be read, for example during holidays
7.5.5 not sending unnecessary copies of messages
7.5.6 replying only to the original sender of a message, irrespective of the number of initial recipients, unless everyone needs to receive the reply
7.5.7 not using the e-mail system for personal adverts and similar purposes (the bulletin boards on the Council’s Intranet provide a more appropriate mechanism for such messages)
7.5.8 not forwarding virus warnings unless these are received from the Corporate ICT Department - these are likely to be hoaxes
7.6 Users should check their e-mail on a daily basis or arrange for a duly authorised person to do so on their behalf. Where this is not possible, the system should be configured to send an automatic warning message to advise the original message sender when the message will be attended to.
7.7 It is possible for any user to arrange automatic forwarding of their mail to another e-mail address, either inside or outside the organisation, and users should seek support from the ICT Help Desk (3500) for details of how to do this if required.
top of page8 Personal Use of E - Mail
8.1 The Council’s e-mail facility is intended to support the organisation’s legitimate business requirements and in principle any other use is not permitted.
8.2
In practice, limited use of the internal and Internet e-mail systems
for personal purposes is regarded as acceptable provided that:
8.2.1 the systems are not used for private business or other commercial purposes, including the sale or purchase of goods and services
8.2.2 use of the systems does not interfere with the normal performance of the user’s duties
8.2.3 there is no breach of the prohibitions identified in this policy
8.2.4 the following
statement is included in every personal message sent:
This e-mail is the personal responsibility of the sender and is not authorised
by or sent on behalf of the sender’s employer’
8.3
The easiest way to include a statement about personal responsibility in an e-mail
message is to include the text as a part of a digital signature.
9 Prohibited Uses
9.1 The Council’s e-mail services service may not be used for the transmitting, retrieving or storing of any messages or attachments which are:
9.1.1 harassing - harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) which relates to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or other similar issues.
9.1.2 defamatory - defamation is the publication of material which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company.
9.1.3 copyright - copyright means that the owner of such material has the exclusive right to determine how that material might be copied and used. Copyright material may not be transmitted if the owner’s permission has not been obtained.
9.1.4 obscene - obscene means material of an offensive or sexual nature.
9.1.5 offensive - offensive means any material which might reasonably be expected to cause distress to the recipient
9.2 Users must not send e-mail or other electronic communications which hide the identity of the sender or which represent the sender as someone else. In addition to being contrary to this policy, such action is contrary to the requirements of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and may render the user liable to prosecution.
9.3 Users must not install additional e-mail related software on Council systems, or change the configuration of existing software, without the written authorisation of the Council’s Head of Information and Communications Technology.
9.4 Users must not disclose their passwords to others or permit others to use their e-mail accounts.
top of page10 Monitoring
10.1 The Council uses special hardware and software to monitor and control the use of e-mail which enables it to record (and if necessary view) all messages sent and received.
10.2 Users should not expect e-mails and the contents of files to be private. E-mail messages constitute records of the Council and as such may be stored and accessed at any time without notice to ensure that users are complying with the requirements of this policy and that no misuse is taking place.
10.3 The Council does not monitor or read users e-mail as a matter of course. However if a possible misuse is reported, or if there is reason to suspect any use of e-mail (including personal e-mail) which contravenes this policy or other Council regulation, or which seems to represent a threat to the security of the facilities, the Council reserves the right to examine mail messages without authorisation from or notification to the sender and the recipient.
top of page11 Confidentiality
11.1 In general terms, confidential information includes any information which is not available to the public. Information which is highly confidential is that which would damage the interests of the Council and those it serves.
11.2 The nature of e-mail, and in particular Internet e-mail, is such that users should never assume the privacy or confidentiality of messages. Confidential and highly confidential material should therefore never be sent by e-mail without appropriate protection.
11.3 The only way to guarantee that an e-mail message is not read by unauthorised persons is to password protect or encrypt it and this can be done in three ways:
11.3.1 Any file created in a word processor can be password protected and sent as an attachment. As long as the password is not included in the message, this method will be at least as secure as the normal postal service.
11.3.2 Files created using archiving utilities such as WinZip can be used to create password protected files with a similar level of security.
11.3.3 Users requiring a greater level of protection will need to encrypt files using third party products such as PGP. Users with a requirement to transmit and receive messages of this degree of confidentiality should contact the ICT Help Desk for advice and guidance.
top of page12 Contracts
12.1 A contract is an agreement between two or more parties to create legal obligations between them. Contracts can be made orally and in writing.
12.2 E-mail may appear to be informal but can be used to create binding contracts and users must take due care not to enter into contractual obligations without the usual care and attention to detail necessary to protect the Council’s interests.
12.3 No contract with a total value in excess of £5,000 shall be concluded by e-mail although contract negotiations may be carried out by this route subject to the constraints stated below.
12.4 Where contractual negotiations are carried out by e-mail or where the use of e-mail with third parties may cause a contract to be formed, users must include the statement ‘subject to contract’ in all such e-mails until such time as it is intended that a binding contract should come into existence.
12.5
Where users intend that a binding contract should come into existence, the following
statement must be included in the message:
’This contract is made in England and Wales and shall be interpreted in accordance
with the laws of England and Wales. The parties submit to the non-exclusive
jurisdiction of the English Courts’.
12.6
Before entering into a binding contract via e-mail, users must be satisfied
of the legal entity of the other contracting party. Unless an established digital
signature protocol is in a place this requires a signed confirmation by the
other contracting party that they will be bound by e-mails from, or purporting
to be sent, from the user’s e-mail address.
12.7
All contracts, including those made by e-mail, must comply with the Council’s
Standing Orders relating to contracts and users are particularly referred to
paragraph 14 of those standing orders which require certain conditions to be
included. Users are also reminded that the advice of Legal Services should be
sought before contracts are concluded.
12.8 Where negotiations to settle a dispute are carried out by e-mail, users must include the statement ‘without prejudice’ in all such e-mails until such time as it is intended that a binding settlement should come into existence.
top of page13 Untoward Incidents
13.1 Users who receive e-mail which they regard as being offensive, potentially illegal or which otherwise appears to contravene acceptable Council policy or statutory requirements should be reported immediately to the Head of Information and Communications Technology at County Hall (82 3502) or via e-mail to [email protected]
top of page14 Breach of Policy
14.1 This Acceptable Use Policy has been drafted in such a way as to protect both the Council and users and any breach of policy will be dealt with in accordance with the Council’s general disciplinary procedures.
14.2 For the avoidance of doubt, failure to adhere to this policy will be considered to be a potentially serious disciplinary offence which could lead to dismissal. Breach of the policy could also lead to criminal or civil action if illegal material is involved or legislation is contravened and the Council will not hesitate to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities any use of its systems by users which it believes might be illegal.
top of page15 Further Information
15.1 If you would like further information on the contents of this Acceptable Use Policy, or on any matters relating to it, please contact the Council’s Head of information and Communications Technology at County Hall (82 3502).
16 History
16.1
This Policy was first drafted on the 23rd March, 2000 and circulated
to the Personnel and Legal Departments for comment. The current draft incorporates
their comments.
16.2 The Policy was first approved by the Council on XXXX.
16.3 There have been no amendments to date.
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