Your boss can read your personal emails. Here's what you need to know 

Stop typing that jokey email immediately. Close your instant chat window. Don't even think about logging into Facebook.

Why? The European Court of Human Rights has just ruled that bosses have the right to spy on staff's work emails and electronic messages. 

The decision was taken after a Romanian engineer was fired for sending messages to his fianceé on his private Yahoo chats, and challenged his employer in the High Court.

It ruled against him, this week, saying that it was not "unreasonable for an employer to want to verify that the employees are completing their professional tasks during working hours"

It means that companies across the UK will have to be clear on when employers can send personal emails from their work accounts.

Gulp. 

In 2016, the lines between technology and real life have become so blurred that, for many employees, work email addresses are indistinguishable to their personal ones. Admit it, who hasn't organised a night out or dissected the latest internet viral video with their pals during office hours?

It raises the questions of just how personal you can get on your work phone, chat or email.  We can all work out that sexting is a big fat no, as it's a serious breach of data - as well as a question of taste. But what about texting ‘I love you’ to your partner? Where do you draw the line? 

I spoke to the experts to find out the basic rules of workplace technology etiquette.  Here’s what you need to know.  

1) Work emails are just for work 

Anthony Sutton, director of Cream HR, thinks this should be a blanket rule, no matter exactly what your company policy says.

“I don’t think people should use work emails for anything other than work purposes. If you have got someone who’s been clearly using work emails inappropriately, and arranging their private lives with it, it’s a serious matter.”

It doesn’t just mean you shouldn’t send emails about how awful your colleagues are to your mates, it means you shouldn’t use your work email address to sign up to websites either.  Sutton has no sympathy for people who used theirs to have affairs via website Ashley Madison and were caught out in last year's hack:

“I view that as serious bad judgement”. He adds that it’s always better to use your own personal email.  That means you shouldn’t really sign up to anything with your work address – whether it’s a political newsletter, a Netflix account, and definitely not your Tinder profile.   

2) Your company can read your emails 

Government policy says that employers can monitor emails, or look at which websites workers visit - something the latest High Court ruling backs. Currently, the only stipulation is they must explain this clearly in the staff handbook or contract. 

Hannah Reed, senior employment rights officer at Trade Union Congress (TUC) stresses it’s not just work emails, it’s anything that the work computer or phone is used for: “Be aware your computer belongs to your employers and they may be snooping or looking at them without you knowing that.”  

3) THAT email will always be there 

You might think that because you deleted the incriminating email months ago, you’ll be in the clear. Wrong. Most companies will have policies that state they have a right to monitor your emails, particularly if there has been a complaint they need to check. 

In some cases it will protect people from bullying and harassment, but it also means that inappropriate messages will always be there. 

Sutton says a client of his once downloaded Snapchat on a work phone and presumed that they could send inappropriate images as they self-destruct. But someone took a screen shot of it, and the image resurfaced. 

4) Don’t get personal things on their time 

Even if you’re not using your work email, phone or browsers for obviously inappropriate activity, there could still be an issue with how much – or little – work you’re doing. 

Sutton explains: “You’re employed to work and if you’re not working on work time, then that's a possible issue that could be looked at.  There could be consequences. It could potentially lead to dismissal.”  

5) Employers have got to take responsibility    

The onus doesn’t just fall on the employees. Reed says: “It’s really important that employers have clear policies that make staff aware of how they can use e-mails and phones for personal purposes. We’d say employers should bring them to employees’ attention on a regular basis so it’s fair.”

Sutton agrees: “The key thing is what’s in the employer’s policy.” Most big companies will have policies that can be found in staff handbooks which should detail exactly what is allowed on your work devices, and what’s not.  If they’re not easily accessible, you should ask your line manager for one. 

Reed adds that most staff policies do allow a limited amount of personal use for emails and phones, in which cases companies need to make sure they’re not interfering with or reading people’s private correspondence. 

6) Use common sense 

If this is all making you panic, don’t. Even though you probably shouldn’t be emailing funny web links to your friends or texting your partner from the work phone, a certain amount is probably permissable. Especially if you’re in a demanding job. 

Reed says: "Most employers now recognise that with longer working hours people need to do some personal activities in the workplace, such as paying bills.”

Companies generally won’t have an issue with the odd message – but if you’re sending long exchanges on a regular basis, or inappropriate material, that’s when problems can arise.  “It’s thinking about what you’re doing,” says Sutton, “and what you’re employed to do.”

A version of this article was first published in August 2015. It has been updated to reflect recent events.