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With all the recent stories in the papers and on TV about employees getting fired or disciplined for misuse of e-mail, there are rumours flying around the office that our company is considering banning personal e-mails in case it gets them into trouble. It may not turn out to be true of course, but if it is how can we convince them this is a bad idea? Sara, via e-mail

Some organisations, principally in the US and Britain but also some in Ireland, have already banned the sending of e-mails that are not for business use. In a lot of cases it seems that their fear stems from cases where people have used e-mail to pester other staff members.

There was also a case in the UK where an Asian policeman was suspended from duty for allegedly sending racist e-mails to other officers. He was eventually cleared, but his career was ruined and a big compensation pay-out is being sought. Meanwhile, the real culprit was never caught. Someone, doubtless racist, was trying to frame the Asian man by using his e-mail address. With situations such as this, it is not surprising that some employers are worried.

If the company did decide to unilaterally ban the sending of personal e-mails it would be within its rights. It is a service that they are providing and it is theirs to take away. A total ban would have to include everybody though, right up to the owners. They might not be too pleased about that. A partial ban would lead people to ask why there was a division, where the line was drawn - and why.

If the ban is actually proposed by the company, here are a couple of points that they might like to consider:

E-mail is something that employees looks forward to, especially if they have no access to it otherwise. In some ways it can be an added bonus to working in a particular place. Take that away and some people might feel they are not being treated as adults, and leave.

If a company is trying to advance the use of technology amongst people who might never have used a computer, then e-mail is a very gentle and helpful way of going about this. Take that away and some people might be less likely to want to learn to use a computer.

E-mail can, and will, be abused by some. For that to affect everyone is a step too far. The best thing to do might be to have an agreed policy about the use of e-mail which makes clear that abuse would lead to disciplinary action.