The Employee’s Right to Privacy and the Employer’s Powers: Recent Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This paper analyses the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights regarding conflicts generated by the confrontation between the employee’s right to privacy and the employer’s powers. Also, it provides definitions and limitations on the right to privacy, as well as general rules, principles, and guidelines for the resolution of this type of conflict. The research aims to identify specific general criteria that may provide useful references at a comparable level, to be used in settlement of possible violations of the employees’ right to privacy that occur on a real level through the exercise of corporate powers. The study of the jurisprudence shows a shared reality at a comparable level due to the emergence of conflicts between the employee’s non-specific labour rights and corporate powers. At the same time, specific guidelines are drawn up for the resolution of these cases, which may well be applicable in various legal systems.