PERSONAL PRIVACY
| SWEDEN |
| PERSONLIG INTEGRITET PERSONAL PRIVACY |
The individual's private sphere (the word integritet here denoting its protection from external intrusions). A number of different situations in working life can touch upon an employee's privacy. Typical examples include checks and controls of various kinds (see body search, drug tests, personal search), situations relating to employee health (see body search, drug tests, personal search), investigations into an individual's psychological condition (see body search, drug tests, personal search) and situations relating to the employee's right to respect for his or her person and to protection against being singled out for objectionable treatment (see body search, drug tests, personal search). Various forms of surveillance of the employee's person and movements are also conceivable examples: there is specific legislation on camera surveillance, while wire-tapping is prohibited to a large extent under the 1962 Criminal Code and secret recording of telecommunications traffic is largely prohibited under either the 1998 Personal Data Protection Act or the 1942 Code of Judicial Procedure. Other forms of surveillance which may arise, such as listening-in on and recording employees' telephone conversations or controls on their whereabouts and movements around the workplace (e.g. through the use of smart cards), are not covered by any special legislation. The Personal Data Protection Act often proves applicable but in many respects the legal situation is unclear. However, the employer must observe good labour market practice and the introduction of surveillance usually has to be preceded by negotiation on managerial decisions.
(As regards a different aspect of the meaning of integritet, in relation to the obligation on employees to exhibit irreproachable conduct in the performance of their duties, see integrity.)
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.