May an employer monitor employees' e-mails and internet use?
By Advisorn · updated on 25 October 2026 · Art. 328b CO, Art. 26 ArGV 3, Art. 6 and 19 FADP
In short
It is not entirely prohibited, but it is very limited. Systems intended to monitor workers' behaviour are prohibited (Art. 26 ArGV 3), and the employer may process only data connected with the employment relationship (Art. 328b CO). A check is allowed for security or operational purposes if it is announced beforehand in a regulation, carried out anonymously first and extended to an individual only if there is a concrete suspicion of misuse.
What to provide for
- a regulation on the use of IT tools: what is permitted, whether private use is allowed, what is logged and checked;
- checks that are anonymous or by sample first, then by name only on a concrete suspicion and after announcing it;
- private e-mails, if recognisable as such, must not be read;
- clear rules for absences and departures: automatic reply and forwarding, not reading the mailbox.
Productivity and AI tools
Software that records keystrokes, takes periodic screenshots or analyses a person's behaviour is as a rule behaviour monitoring, and therefore prohibited.
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General information, not advice on your case: for your case the text of the law prevails. For a question about your case there is Advisorn's consulting.