Access to the Email Accounts of Individuals

Occasionally, Information Services receives requests that temporary or delegated staff be given access to PCs and email accounts of staff that are on leave or are absent due to illness.

ISD wishes to remind users, and office managers in particular, that access may be granted to the PC* but cannot be granted to the email accounts of individuals. [The email account is deemed personal and therefore access to it contravenes section 4.2 of the University's Acceptable Use Policy and could contravene Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.]

It is therefore incumbent upon line managers to ensure:

(Note: HR may wish to approve the text of a message not set-up by the user her/himself)

Managers are reminded that the University of Ulster is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and other legislation.

Managers should consider the implications of such legislation when considering the need to access personal email accounts . Line managers should only access personal email accounts if permission has been provided in writing in advance from the owner. Requests for redirections or "Out of Office" messages to be established should be directed to the ISD Service Desk:

Information Services will not grant third-party access to the email accounts of individuals.

* If temporary or delegated staff are to be given access to a user's PC, it is best practice to create a separate user account (or profile) on that PC. Administrative departments should contact the ISD Service Desk for advice and assistance in this matter. Faculty office managers should contact their faculty IT technical staff for assistance.