Abstract
The employment application form is a major source of information about candidates for many companies. It is also a potential source of infringement by the company upon the privacy of the individual. Although September 1984 saw the passing into law of the Data Protection Act, the U.K. has not been in the forefront of civil rights where employees and personal information are concerned. During an extended interview with members of a personnel department of a major company, several issues relating to privacy issues were revealed and these are discussed in the paper. Although these interviews were carried out before the new law came into effect, they do show that this and many similar organisations may experience problems over compliance. This is particularly likely in the computerisation of personnel records and employees' access to their personal information.
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Michael Newman is Lecturer in Accountancy at the University of Manchester and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut. He has been awarded a grant by the Economic and Social Research Council, U.K. for his project ‘The Introduction of Information Systems into Organisations’, 1985/87. He is one of the authors of Accountants' Roles in Industrial Organizations and Access to Information. He has also published several articles.
Gloriana Marks de Chabris is Junior Accountant at Price Water House (Accountants).
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Newman, M., de Chabris, G.M. Employment and privacy: A problem for our time. J Bus Ethics 6, 153–163 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382029