[Company]

August 10, 2001

EMAIL POLICY
[This document is ofered by Email-policy.com. Enter your company name in the [Company] feld and
adapt and add rules to suit your companys needs. Note that this document is merely for informational
purposes and should not be relied upon as a legal document]
The purpose of this policy is to ensure the proper use of [Company]s email system and make users aware
of what [Company] deems as acceptale and unacceptale use of its email system! The [Company]
reser"es the right to amend this policy at its discretion! #n case of amendments, users will e informed
appropriately!
LEGAL RISKS
$mail is a usiness communication tool and users are oliged to use this tool in a responsile, e%ecti"e
and lawful manner! Although y its nature email seems to e less formal than other written
communication, the same laws apply! Therefore, it is important that users are aware of the legal risks of
email&
#f you send emails with any lielous, defamatory, o%ensi"e, racist or oscene remarks, you and
[Company] can e held liale!
#f you forward emails with any lielous, defamatory, o%ensi"e, racist or oscene remarks, you and
[Company] can e held liale!
#f you unlawfully forward con'dential information, you and [Company] can e held liale!
#f you unlawfully forward or copy messages without permission, you and [Company] can e held
liale for copyright infringement!
#f you send an attachment that contains a "irus, you and [Company] can e held liale!
(y following the guidelines in this policy, the email user can minimi)e the legal risks in"ol"ed in the use of
email! #f any user disregards the rules set out in this $mail *olicy, the user will e fully liale and
[Company] will disassociate itself from the user as far as legally possile!
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The following rules are re+uired y law and are to e strictly adhered to! #t is prohibited to&
Send or forward eai!" #ontainin$ !ibe!o%"& defaator'& o(en"i)e& ra#i"t or ob"#ene
rear*"+ If 'o% re#ei)e an eai! of thi" nat%re& 'o% %"t propt!' notif' 'o%r
"%per)i"or+
,orward a message without ac+uiring permission from the sender 'rst!
-end unsolicited email messages!
,orge or attempt to forge email messages!
.isguise or attempt to disguise your identity when sending mail!
-end email messages using another persons email account!
Copy a message or attachment elonging to another user without permission of the originator!
,EST PRACTICES
[Company] considers email as an important means of communication and recogni)es the importance of
proper email content and speedy replies in con"eying a professional image and deli"ering good customer
ser"ice! /sers should take the same care in drafting an email as they would for any other communication!
Therefore [Company] wishes users to adhere to the following guidelines&
-ritin$ eai!"&
o 0rite well1structured emails and use short, descripti"e su2ects!
o [Company]s email style is informal! This means that sentences can e short and to the
point! 3ou can start your email with 45i, or 4.ear, and the name of the person! 6essages
can e ended with 4(est 7egards! The use of #nternet are"iations and characters such
as smileys howe"er, is not encouraged!
o -ignatures must include your name, 2o title and company name! A disclaimer will e
added underneath your signature 8see .isclaimer9
o /sers must spell check all mails prior to transmission!
o .o not send unnecessary attachments! Compress attachments larger than 200: efore
sending them!
o .o not write emails in capitals!
o .o not use cc& or cc& 'elds unless the cc& or cc& recipient is aware that you will e
copying a mail to him;her and knows what action, if any, to take!
o #f you forward mails, state clearly what action you e<pect the recipient to take!
o =nly send emails of which the content could e displayed on a pulic notice oard! #f they
cannot e displayed pulicly in their current state, consider rephrasing the email, using
other means of communication, or protecting information y using a password 8see
con'dential9!
o =nly mark emails as important if they really are important!
Rep!'in$ to eai!"&
o $mails should e answered within at least > working hours, ut users must endea"or to
answer priority emails within ? hours!
o *riority emails are emails from e<isting customers and usiness partners!
New"$ro%p"&
o /sers need to re+uest permission from their super"isor efore suscriing to a newsletter
or news group!
Maintenan#e&
o .elete any email messages that you do not need to ha"e a copy of, and set your email
client to automatically empty your 4deleted items on closing!
PERSONAL USE
#t is strictly foridden to use [Companys] email system for anything other than legitimate usiness
purposes! Therefore, the sending of personal emails, chain letters, 2unk mail, 2okes and e<ecutales is
prohiited! All messages distriuted "ia the companys email system are [Company]s property!
CON.I/ENTIAL IN.ORMATION
@e"er send any con'dential information "ia email! #f you are in dout as to whether to send certain
information "ia email, check this with your super"isor 'rst!
PASS-OR/S
All passwords must e made known to the company! The use of passwords to gain access to the computer
system or to secure speci'c 'les does not pro"ide users with an e<pectation of pri"acy in the respecti"e
system or document!
ENCRYPTION
/sers may not encrypt any emails without otaining written permission from their super"isor! #f appro"ed,
the encryption key8s9 must e made known to the company!
EMAIL RETENTION
All emails will e deleted after A0 days! #f a user has suBcient reason to keep a copy of an email, the
message must e mo"ed to the folder 4,or archi"ing!
EMAIL ACCOUNTS
All email accounts maintained on our email systems are property of [Company]! *asswords should not e
gi"en to other people and should e changed once a month! $mail accounts not used for A0 days will e
deacti"ated and possily deleted!
SYSTEM MONITORING
/sers e<pressly wai"e any right of pri"acy in anything they create, store, send or recei"e on the
companys computer system! [Company] can, ut is not oliged to, monitor emails without prior
noti'cation! #f there is e"idence that you are not adhering to the guidelines set out in this policy, the
[Company] reser"es the right to take disciplinary action, including termination and;or legal action!
/ISCLAIMER
The following disclaimer will e added to each outgoing email&
4This email and any 'les transmitted with it are con'dential and intended solely for the use of the
indi"idual or entity to whom they are addressed! #f you ha"e recei"ed this email in error please notify the
system manager! *lease note that any "iews or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of the company! ,inally, the recipient should check this
email and any attachments for the presence of "iruses! The company accepts no liaility for any damage
caused y any "irus transmitted y this email!
QUESTIONS
#f you ha"e any +uestions or comments aout this $mail *olicy, please contact [@ame], [Tel], [$mail]! #f you
do not ha"e any +uestions [Company] presumes that you understand and are aware of the rules and
guidelines in this $mail *olicy and will adhere to them!
/ECLARATION
# ha"e read, understand and acknowledge receipt of the $mail policy! # will comply with the guidelines set
out in this policy and understand that failure to do so might result in disciplinary or legal action!
-ignature& CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

.ate& CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
*rinted @ame& CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC