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“The Labor Code stipulates that the protection of confidential information must be agreed in the employment contract or in its annex. Today in Lithuania, almost all employers sign such agreements with employees, but that is not the end. In practice, we see situations that set foot in the adequate protection of confidential information. This is often too broad a list of confidential information, vague organizational rules, too long an information retention period, ”says Rūta Didikė, a partner at the Magnusson law firm.
It is not enough to sign an agreement
Under the Labor Code, the employer must take all organizational and technical measures to help the employee fulfill his obligation to retain information.
Therefore, according to R. Didikė, it is not enough to sign the agreement and put it in a drawer: it is necessary to create internal organizational rules on how information should be stored, constantly remind your employees about them and, most importantly, follow those rules.
“To this end, it is recommended to prepare a job description, according to which the employer would restrict the exchange of information within the company. For example, sales managers know their customers, their needs and product developers would not receive this Information. Another option is to divide employees into groups and indicate what information each group can access. Suppose a sales manager goes to a financier and asks for information. The financier, according to internal procedures, sees if a colleague from another group has the right to receive such information, ”the lawyer told the media.
The employer must also apply technical protection measures. For example, employees can be prevented from installing jobs e. Mail to personal computers, connections from personal computers to certain systems used at work, set standards for how documents with confidential information should be stored.
When everything is protected, is nobody protected?
The lawyer says it is often noticed when managers add almost all of the company’s information to the list of confidential information: everything seems to be important and there is a fear that something will be forgotten.
“The excessive attribution of information to confidentiality can have the opposite effect: then the employee does not know what information is really valuable and sensitive and what is not. According to jurisprudence, confidential information is information that has a production potential or commercial value and whose loss could result in a loss to the employer.
Therefore, who meets the following criteria should be carefully evaluated: pricing, customer contacts, new product development, planned development – what could really hurt if information is leaked. Salaries can also be included as confidential information, as knowing them can attract an employee. But, for example, shareholder decisions or reports submitted to the Records Center may be publicly available, therefore the concept of confidential information should not be included, “explains R. Didikė.
It is difficult but possible to prove a leak
Breach of the confidentiality agreement can be treated as a serious breach subject to dismissal. You may also have to pay the penalties set out in the agreement, and the Labor Code provides full compensation for damages suffered by your employer.
Rūta Didikė
© Photo album from personal album.
According to R. Didikė, entities that have used confidential information held by the employee may also have drawbacks: they are considered to have received it illegally, therefore they become co-defendants in court cases.
Occasionally, employers do not trust the effectiveness of confidentiality agreements because they will not be able to prove a leak yet. However, with a confidentiality agreement, the employer can at least take legal action.
“It is not easy to demonstrate that confidential information has been disclosed. Clients or suppliers who are attracted often do not cooperate in such cases. Various circumstantial evidence is collected. In jurisprudence, we have successful cases where employers have successfully demonstrated the leak. of confidential information, but the process itself is not always simple, the test takes time, “says the lawyer.
According to her, there are situations in which the employer suspects that confidential information was leaked, but the employee proves that the disclosed information is no longer relevant, so its disclosure does not adversely affect the employer’s activities. Such cases generally arise from the long period of retention of confidential information. When choosing it, the lawyer advises to take into account the details of the company’s activities.
“If the market changes so much that the information will become obsolete in a few months, there is one. But if, for example, a product is manufactured according to the recipe and the original technology, which is likely to be popular for many years, the situation is quite different and this must be taken into account ”, explains the expert in labor law.
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