Comment: The curse of the BlackBerry could strike your company

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 12 Oct 2006 at 17:33

Quite apart from the health and safety implications, employees' ability to send emails - often representing the company - could also prove costly in the libel courts. 'Away from the office, you have no idea what people are sending, and if it comes from a company email device the company could be responsible for an employee's actions, even when they are less than responsible themselves,' says Goodwyn. 'If you take a BlackBerry to the pub and send out a load of what you think are amusing emails when you've had a skinful, and those emails turn out to be offensive or racist, the company could be in hot water.'

Any company email policies, says Russell Jeffers of law firm Linklaters, should be extended to include the use of mobile mail, and should set guidelines on use to reduce the risk of RSI litigation.

Perhaps the best protection against BlackBerryinduced health concerns is to take Jeffers' advice and 'remember that they do have an off button'.

Your company probably won't collapse if you fail to reply to emails, but you might if you never take a break. After all, technology is supposed to free us from the office, not bind us to it on an invisible leash.