However, the school district settled out of court with families. The rise of social media usage in recent years has added another layer to the employer-employee privacy relationship. Personal opinions, griping about the company or violations of company policy can lead to termination. While the rules around employee privacy in the digital age are always in flux, employees do have rights. Protected Concerted Activity gives employees the right to act together to try to improve their pay and working conditions, with or without a union.
Conversations among employees are generally protected when they consider group action. Make sure to communicate clearly that you have the capability to monitor and track company-owned devices to your employees. Establish policies and procedures that clearly explain what your IT technicians are allowed to do and train all employees on those policies. This blog was originally posted in June and has been updated with new developments in employee privacy.
This Labor Law News Blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel. By Kris Janisch Published Nov. Employee Monitoring in the Digital Age Technological advances have often put workers beneath a microscope. Limits to Employee Monitoring Generally, employers are not allowed to listen to or record conversations of their employees without the consent of the parties involved. Employee Personal Information or Files on Company Computers It should be no surprise that IT staff occasionally need to make computer updates or repairs.
Have a question? Submit it here. Question: I have a co-worker that set up a hidden camera to film me and my other co-workers without consent from anyone or from the company owner. Is this even legal? Moreover, if you work in an industry like banking or real estate, surveillance is often used to enforce safety and security. In most workplaces, employees should not be recording worksite activities without the permission of those being recorded, unless they have valid concerns about unlawful activity or safety issues.
Depending on where you live, there are also state laws that require at least two parties or all parties to consent to be recorded. I recommend checking with your HR team to see if they have a workplace recordings policy that explains when recording is and is not permitted.
Generally speaking, secretly recording such meetings would not constitute a breach of the Surveillance Devices Act, given that the person conducting the recording is a participant in the meetings, keeping in mind that the Act prohibits the secret recording of meetings by a person who is not a participant in the meeting. However, should a workplace dispute arise as a result of or partly a result of the secretly recorded meeting, it might not always be possible to admit a secret recording to the Fair Work Commission in evidence.
This is because some Commissioners in recent times have refused to listen to secret recordings, even when such recordings may be directly relevant to the particular dispute, out of concern that doing so may encourage the recording of such meetings.
Despite misgivings by some, the use of such secret recordings may very well be allowed at law, noting that the Surveillance Devices Act allows such publication where it is necessary for the protection of the lawful interests of the person who made the secret recording. It is important to understand your legal rights when it comes to surveillance at work and any other employment law matters, whether you are an employer or the employee.
For expert legal assistance with employment matters, please feel free to contact Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law Mitchell Zadow on or complete the form below. The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
Any legal matters should be discussed specifically with one of our lawyers. For further information, contact Mitchell on his direct line 03 However, in this article we will set out the factors that influence how long it will take to obtain a Grant of Probate and to administer an estate in Victoria.
First things first: what is a Grant of Probate? A Grant of Probate is effectively a document issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria which formally authorises an executor to manage the estate of a deceased person in accordance with their Will. Without Probate, the asset holders say a bank or share registry cannot be satisfied as who has the correct authority to receive the deceased's assets and may refuse to pay out. Sometimes, for smaller estates or if assets are mostly jointly owned with a surviving spouse, asset holders might agree to release payment without requiring a Grant of Probate.
This is usually on the basis that the person who receives payment promises to repay or Indemnify the asset holder if it turns out they paid to the wrong person. If there is no Will, then you cannot obtain a Grant of Probate. Instead you obtain Letters of Administration. This is effectively the same, in terms of authorising someone to administer the estate, and would usually be obtained by the person who is the closest next-of-kin to the deceased.
In order to obtain a Grant of Probate, the Supreme Court needs to be given information about the assets and liabilities of the estate, the deceased person, the witnesses to the Will, the executors and the Will itself. An advertisement of your intention to apply for Probate must also be published on the Supreme Court website for at least 14 days prior to any application being lodged. Often, making enquires to obtain all the necessary information can take a number of weeks. Also, you will need the Death Certificate for the application for Grant of Probate and possibly for making proper enquires regarding the assets and liabilities.
Waiting for the Death Certificate to issue can therefore add a few more weeks to the process. Overall, if you have your application for Grant of Probate lodged within 1 to 2 months from the date of death, you are making timely progress. The Court itself usually does not take long to process the application maybe another 1 to 2 weeks and this is completed using the electronic Supreme Court filing system.
This means you do not have to go to a Court hearing. The timeframe for processing applications for Letters of Administration is even less, given that there is no Will document for the Court to consider. There is also a general discretion for the Court to raise a 'Requisition' asking for more information before they review the application - this can sometimes delay matters.
So, here we are a few months after death and you finally have a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. It is important to remember that this is the start of the estate administration and not the end.
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