International protection of employee’s privacy under the European convention on human rights

In the diversity of national approaches to the problem of protection of employees’ privacy at work, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights provides a priceless framework for the consideration of cases concerning employee’s privacy. Even though the term “privacy” was not used by the Strasbourg Court, its broad interpretation of the right to respect for private life significantly contributed to the protection of personal data, elaborating positive obligations of the states. The article researches how the European Convention on Human Rights is adapted to protect employees’ personal data, to restrict unauthorized video surveillance, searches, interception of telephone calls at work and takes into account the most recent case, Bărbulescu v. Romania, considered in 2016. It focuses on the Court’s approach to the lawfulness and necessity of the interference with employee’s privacy, as it has particular value for the employee’s protection on the national level in the countries of the Council of Europe.