Proceedings of the 18th International Academic Conference, London

PROTECTION OF EMPLOYER’S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IN THE INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE LABOUR LAW

MARTA DERLACZ-WAWROWSKA

Abstract:

As a result of civilization changes the role of information is increasing. Nowadays information is the more and more important element of an enterprise. That process is reflected in law change. The Author will analyze regulation concerning protection of confidential data of the employer in the context of European Law and its influence on Polish law. Regulations concerning information are present in individual and collective labour law. In the individual labour law protection of confidential data concerns information the employee acquires due to performing of his duties. In collective labour law, number of employee representatives have right to demand from the employer information. These refers to labour unions, works councils, European works councils, employee representatives in the European Company, European Cooperative Society and in the company resulting from the cross-border merger have brought information rights. Giving the right to information needs at the same time introducing mechanisms of protection of employers’ confidential data. In this context it is worth to examine what are the possibilities of enforcement the employer’s duties concerning information and protection of confidential data and what is the liability for violation of confidentiality. The main goals of the paper is to: • analyze the legal considerations regarding employees and employees’ representatives access to the information about employer operation and to show the legal means of protection of those data, • analyze the influence of access to the information and protection of those information on the effectiveness of employees’ representation, • compare the information rights and protection of employer confidential information in the case of different employees’ representations and defining level of cohesion of this regulation, • giving recommendation aimed at improvement of the regulation in the scope of information and protection of employer’ confidential data in the individual and collective labor law.

Keywords: labour law, confidential information, employee representatives.

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2015.018.032

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