'Don't snoop on staff,' European bosses warned
Bosses have been urged not to indulge in invasive surveillance by reading their employees' private messages.
A series of groups spoke out after Europe's top court ruled a Romanian man whose employer read his messages had not had his rights violated.
He broke company policy by using a work account to talk to his family.
In response, bodies representing directors and workers, as well as privacy and human resources groups, all issued similar warnings to bosses.
The European Trade Union Confederation, which represents workers across the continent, said the judges' decision should not act as a "green light… to start snooping" on staff.
The case in the European Court of Human Rights did not introduce any new rules, but acted as a stress test for those that already allowed similar surveillance by employers in some circumstances.