To think my boss shouldn't have access to my emails?

[thepartysover]

I'm soon to be going on maternity leave and as part of my handover my boss has asked for the password to my work email address "so that nothing gets missed".

I will be setting up an out of office email response (including the relevant people to contact in any instance) - am I being unreasonable to say no to this, or does my boss have the right to access my correspondence?

[DarlingNikita]

Surely it's the digital equivalent of handing over your lever arch files of written correspondence?

No, because paper files don't need a password.

[DGRossetti]

I don't think you're supposed to give your password to anyone.

If your IT is being run properly, yes.

If your IT is being run on the cheap by someones nephew who "pops in now and then", then all bets are off.

[chomalungma]

No. I wouldn't. Their email accounts are private. Yes, IT have the capability to access the accounts but that would only happen if an outside agency (police or similar) had a legitimate legal right to so do

Afraid not - what would you do if a member of staff requested a subject access request on personal data held on them by your workplace? Would you give them any emails that discussed the member of staff that were written by another member of staff?

What if there was a HR dispute and you needed to know what someone said about someone else?

[DGRossetti]

Yes, we have access to whoever's on holiday's emails so nothing gets missed.

But that can - and should - be provided without needing the colleagues password.

Does anyone remember cars that had a "chauffeurs" key ?

[Jayblue]

It's possible he might need access to prior emails in order to search them, e.g. to check for previous correspondence with a client or to find previous emails about an ongoing issue - I can't really see how you'd have a leg to stand on to refuse this if there's a business need. It's very likely you signed a policy to agree to email sharing, and I can't really see how this could be subject to GDPR- you could obviously delete any emails with personal information on them if he wanted.

I agree there should be a way to do this other than password sharing, though.

I've always assumed that anything I send via a work email could be read by someone else, and I can't really understand why people would have a problem with this!

[thepartysover]

It's a bit of a minefield. Delegating access / setting up emails to be forwarded as of start of mat leave seems the thing to do

Beside the point but I'm reticent to give him access as I'm fairly sure he's looking forward to a good snoop / rifle through my contacts 🕵🏽‍♀️

[foreverhanging]

My boss always had access to my emails in case of sickness or holiday and maternity leave. I willingly gave it as it was a great help! It's not like I had anything to hide!

[PeevedNiamh]

Pretty sure my boss can access my emails already tbh. Delete anything you don't want seen (and delete again from the recover deleted items bit).

[DGRossetti]

I agree there should be a way to do this other than password sharing, though.

If you're using Exchange (most places will) then delegate access to just read emails can be provided. If more is required (my last place all the PAs had delegate access to emails and calendars) it can be set up.

Same as with your debit/credit card PIN, you should never share your password with anyone. And if you are working in an outfit that insists on it ... well I'm very sorry.

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Afraid not - what would you do if a member of staff requested a subject access request on personal data held on them by your workplace? Would you give them any emails that discussed the member of staff that were written by another member of staff?

I don't know. That sort of stuff is handled by our Corporate Information/Communications team. However, it would not involve accessing a member of staff's email. We don't do that.

What if there was a HR dispute and you needed to know what someone said about someone else?

I cannot gain evidence by illicitly accessing colleagues' email accounts. I'd have to do without that evidence.

[chomalungma]

Part of this relates to what people do with emails. How long are they kept for and what do people do with them - should they be saved with a client record on a normal folder, instead of part of in an email folder? If not, should they be deleted?

Much easier in the old days when you could just file a letter with a paper copy, memos existed and people just talked to each other.

[DGRossetti]

Pretty sure my boss can access my emails already tbh

Depends on how the system is setup.

[orangeshoebox]

yanbu - don't give the password. your account should be disabled during long term leave with a message going out whom to contact in your absence. a good handover will make things seamless.

yabu to think work email is private.

[DGRossetti]

Part of this relates to what people do with emails. How long are they kept for and what do people do with them - should they be saved with a client record on a normal folder, instead of part of in an email folder? If not, should they be deleted?

If there's a compliance department ....

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

It's not like I had anything to hide!

Hmm, well I have plenty to hide from my boss. And I'm sure that she's got plenty to hide from hers

[chomalungma]

n't know. That sort of stuff is handled by our Corporate Information/Communications team. However, it would not involve accessing a member of staff's email. We don't do that

You would if you had to - or someone would.

annot gain evidence by illicitly accessing colleagues' email accounts. I'd have to do without that evidence

It's not illicit - as has been said, companies have the right to access work emails. Do you know what your company email policy states?

[Isleepinahedgefund]

I wouldn’t give him your password but ask him to arrange access with IT if he needs it. At my work you’d be disciplined for giving someone else your password (and him for using it) no matter what the situation.

When I left my last post I knew my boss would need to ask for access to my email via IT so I was sure to go through and delete everything except case related emails before I left. I know IT can still see them but he can’t and that’s what counts!

[Disfordarkchocolate]

Where I work we are not allowed to give our passwords out but IT can arrange access.

[daisychain01]

OP your employer should have documented IT administration protocols in place which give the IT department approved standardised processes to follow, in the event of absences such as maternity or long term sick.

Although posters on here can give their experiences of what happens in their organisation, that may not be accurate in your case. Some organisations permit delegate access where a manager is give read write access to the absent employee's mailbox (including or excluding subfolders), for which any outbound emails are sent as [OP Manager on behalf of OP]. Other organisations permit access direct to the mailbo.

You need to find out before you leave what the company policy is, and on what basis could emails be sent from your mailbox that are not shown as "on behalf of".

To cover yourself, I would email your Manager so it is in writing and dated. Even if they don't reply by email, you have covered yourself, as any emails sent after you've started Mat leave will clearly not have been sent by you. If you are planning to logon during Mat leave, then clear that with your manager so they know from when you may be starting to access your mailbox.

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

You would if you had to - or someone would.

Possibly. But that doesn't equate to me, as manager, having access to my team's emails. As I've stated before, if we were required by law to look at the emails, then we would. But that wouldn't be done by me as the manager; it would have to be sanctioned at the highest level.


It's not illicit - as has been said, companies have the right to access work emails. Do you know what your company email policy states?

I do know, yes. As I've also previously stated, we are not permitted to allow colleagues to access our email accounts. It's a disciplinary offence. Organiaations do not have the automatic right to snoop on their staff.

[chomalungma]

we are not permitted to allow colleagues to access our email accounts

There is a difference between allowing colleagues to access your email account and an employer having the right to access your work email.

As I've stated before, if we were required by law to look at the emails, then we would

Wouldn't even have to be by law. If an employee was sick and something urgent had come up and the information was on that person's email, as a manager, you should be able to get access to that account to deal with it. It might take time to get access but there should be a policy in place and people should be aware that could happen.

[NotJust3SmallWords]

You should be able to set it up so that he can access your emails through his log in. (Admittedly I'm not entirely sure how to do it but) a number of people in my team have access to my emails as a drop down in their Outlook side bar. I work out of the office a lot so it's useful to make sure nothing gets missed, or ensures they can deal with queries on any matters I'm working on. That seems sensible to me.

[DeRigueurMortis]

No this is not appropriate and I'm shocked anyone working in IT would request this.

Having access to your password invokes potentially far more access than just emails.

It grants him the privilege to be "you" as far as any IT behaviour is concerned and would be logged as such.

It's perfectly fine for him to request you set up auto-forwarding to his account. That way nothing would be missed.

If there was an urgent need to access your work account there should be internal protocols for this.

In my company a request has to be made (with an appropriate reason) and signed off by the department head and a member of the Exec (if the department head is making the request then 2 Execs need to sign it off).

People seem to think that because it's a work email address your manger is entitled to access it.

The truth is your "employer" in other words "the company/organisation" is allowed to access it (and yes, for IT admin it's easy to do).

However that access should be logged as part of a formal process - not "give me your password" because companies with an appropriate security policy would NEVER ask you to hand over your password (it would be a disciplinary offense to do so).

[VerbenaGirl]

He has a right to access your emails but not via your password, as then there isn’t an accurate audit trail of who is accessing the messages. IT should set it up so that he can view your messages in his account via delegated authority.

[Jojobears]

I’d check with your IT or compliance dept if you have one. We are strongly discouraged from allowing anyone access to our passwords