Ruth Buchanan, employment eartner in Ashurst’s London office is joined by James Comber, a contentious regulatory partner in Hong Kong, Dr Andreas Mauroschat, partner and head of employment, IT, data protection and compliance practice in the Frankfurt office, Rhiannon Webster, head of Ashursts data protection practice in London and Karen Mitra, who leads the Asian employment practice out of the Singapore office.

This episode takes a deep dive into the employment, privacy and financial regulation issues which employers should consider when they want to know how to access employees' personal devices, for example, to access data from WhatsApp or similar messaging services.

Key takeaways include employers incorporating a clause into employment contracts, explaining that the organisation may undertake personal phone monitoring as a deterrent or to ensure that it can comply with regulatory obligations regarding record keeping. Considering whether in-house resources can undertake checks of personal devices and how that would align with legitimate concerns from employees regarding the issue of holding their sensitive data. And finally to ensure a line in the sand is drawn in relation to the use of personal devices for work-related activities.

This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions.

Ruth Buchanan, employment eartner in Ashurst’s London office is joined by James Comber, a contentious regulatory partner in Hong Kong, Dr Andreas Mauroschat, partner and head of employment, IT, data protection and compliance practice in the Frankfurt office, Rhiannon Webster, head of Ashursts data protection practice in London and Karen Mitra, who leads the Asian employment practice out of the Singapore office.
This episode takes a deep dive into the employment, privacy and financial regulation issues which employers should consider when they want to know how to access employees' personal devices, for example, to access data from WhatsApp or similar messaging services.
Key takeaways include employers incorporating a clause into employment contracts, explaining that the organisation may undertake personal phone monitoring as a deterrent or to ensure that it can comply with regulatory obligations regarding record keeping. Considering whether in-house resources can undertake checks of personal devices and how that would align with legitimate concerns from employees regarding the issue of holding their sensitive data. And finally to ensure a line in the sand is drawn in relation to the use of personal devices for work-related activities.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions.

The commercial world is always changing and the legal landscape never stands still. Keeping pace with all those changes, and knowing how they affect your organisation, is a big responsibility and a challenging task. Ashurst Legal Outlook will keep you at the forefront of the most pressing legal issues, offering insights from legal experts across our international network.

The commercial world is always changing and the legal landscape never stands still. Keeping pace with all those changes, and knowing how they affect your organisation, is a big responsibility and a challenging task. Ashurst Legal Outlook will keep you at the forefront of the most pressing legal issues, offering insights from legal experts across our international network.

A podcast series that will keep you across the global trends and local issues that are shaping the legal landscape and impacting organisations.

Ashurst Legal Outlook Podcast

With regulation and legislation constantly shifting, Legal Outlook helps you stay one step ahead. In each episode, we flag legal changes to watch out for, explain what they mean for organizations, and suggest practical ways to respond. Featuring insights from seasoned legal professionals from across our global network.

With regulation and legislation constantly shifting, Legal Outlook helps you stay one step ahead. In each episode, we flag legal changes to watch out for, explain what they mean for organizations, and suggest practical ways to respond. Featuring insights from seasoned legal professionals from across our global network.

Ashurst Perkins Coie Legal Outlook

This episode takes a deep dive into the employment, privacy and financial regulation issues which employers should consider when they want to know how to access employees' personal devices, for example, to access data from WhatsApp or similar messaging services.