How and whether to take archive of my corporate Outlook email

[adam42]

Hi All,

I'm considering whether to try to archive and secure my own copy of all my internal emails at my current corporate client, i.e. get them off the corporation for my own future use in case of legal need.

My current team leader makes a lot of decisions by the seat of his pants and sometimes I have to ask him to confirm his decisions per email because they run counter to the corporate mandates on various issues. Fortunately for him, the corporate mandates are not universally effectively imposed, but they are tightening up.

My concern is that after leaving which I intend to do soon, some other team takes on my old project and then they decide to get officious and try to enforce me under the terms of my contract to go back in and implement the mandatory stuff I had been instructed not to bother about.

I see issues with sending my Outlook archive outside the corporation - that in itself might constitute a breach of contract, especially considering all the code snippets and data passed around.

Secondly, it occurs to me now that for IR35 avoidance, I should never have accepted an email account from the client. Or I should have demanded that my email instructions re the project decisions should go to my own company email, or even printed on paper?

Should I forget about it? Or is it a Catch 22 anyway with the info I need to protect myself unobtainable by normal legitimate means?

[northernladuk]

My concern is that after leaving which I intend to do soon, some other team takes on my old project and then they decide to get officious and try to enforce me under the terms of my contract to go back in and implement the mandatory stuff I had been instructed not to bother about.

No they won't. Once you are done you are done. No way will they want you back.

I see issues with sending my Outlook archive outside the corporation - that in itself might constitute a breach of contract, especially considering all the code snippets and data passed around.

And a whole raft of data laws which I am absolutely certain you won't be complying with. I'd expect there will be some IP rules and security policies you've signed and you'd be breaching as well. You can't just take dumps of clients data, email.

That said there are some cases and findings where ownership of the emails is in question but the caveat is that it doesn't include confidential stuff to the client. A dump of all your emails will most definitely fall foul of that.
Confidentiality: High Court rules content in emails should not be considered as property unless it is confidential information, copyrightable or owned under contract

Secondly, it occurs to me now that for IR35 avoidance, I should never have accepted an email account from the client. Or I should have demanded that my email instructions re the project decisions should go to my own company email, or even printed on paper?

Using company email and whatever tools has nothing to do with IR35. Forget this line of thinking. Virtually everyone uses their clients email system.

Should I forget about it? Or is it a Catch 22 anyway with the info I need to protect myself unobtainable by normal legitimate means?

Forget about it. Nothing good can come of copying clients emails and taking them with you.

[northernladuk]

That was a quick turn around of events...

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ml#post2622859

[SuperLooper]

I occasionally forward email from my client's email system to my own company's email address. I only do this if I think the email could be useful in the event of an HMRC investigation: confirmation of my travel arrangements to client meetings, and things like that. I certainly wouldn't do a bulk export of email.

[Hobosapien]

I've in the past done an export from Outlook of all emails to a PST file (so can re-import later if necessary) and given it a password when asked, as a secure backup. For extra security I store it on an encrypted memory stick. Better to have and not need it than wish had retained a copy.

No-one at client knows about this and it has come in handy when client asked me back and referenced previous work after having trashed my previous email account. They just think I have a good memory.

This fits in with my overall strategy or taking responsibility for backing up anything I may need for current or future client relationship and not relying on client to ensure such backups are either taken or preserved. I treat the data with the confidentiality and security that fits the client's mandate.

[northernladuk]

This fits in with my overall strategy or taking responsibility for backing up anything I may need for current or future client relationship and not relying on client to ensure such backups are either taken or preserved. I treat the data with the confidentiality and security that fits the client's mandate.

I'm sure the client will be very happy you are treating the data you stole from then within their mandate.

[Hobosapien]

I'm sure the client will be very happy you are treating the data you stole from then within their mandate.

There is nothing in their policy that says backups cannot be taken and must be destroyed when leaving the company. I take a pragmatic view that ensures I can continue doing good work for them if they require it in the future, and as part of any NDA or IP protection I am cleared to access the information and trusted to handle it appropriately.

'Stealing' infers using it for benefit of a third party the client is unaware of or would not be happy about, which is not the case and never will be. Besides we're talking about emails that is a form of correspondence and as co-correspondee I may have rights to that, especially if it contained proof of malpractice by others as a form of future defence, which is the context of this thread. i.e. a right to preserve evidence.

I accept such practices would be dodgy if the data was valuable to third parties or competitors as that could be seen as theft for potential financial gain or malice.

[simes]

When I had a malpractice accusation levelled at me while nearing end of contract, in the ongoing correspondence, I cc'd MyCo email address and let them know in the body of the text that this was being done in case of any later suits after my email account had been closed down.

In the end, the accuser admitted he just hadn't properly read one of my statements. So it all went away. But I still have the emails.

[WordIsBond]

Instructions to Your Company about ways in which they want your services to be provided are legitimately the property of YourCo. Others probably are not.

I would probably, in such a case, have forwarded any such emails to my own business email at the point of it happening. Too late for that now. Probably not practical to search and find them all. But I bet you can remember some of the most blatant examples. So grab a few of them. If you are challenged on something else they won't be proof, but they will be proof that there was a pattern of you challenging and him confirming actions contrary to policy.

You should probably be aware, though, that the client email account isn't much of a problem for IR35, but the fact that he was telling you how to do your job, to the extent of specifics that countered corporate mandates/guidelines, smacks heavily of Supervision/Direction/Control. Are you sure you are outside IR35?

[man]

Don't you have your ClientCo email account sync'ed to your own company laptop? Integration with your email client is important after all.