What about during work hours, do you use your phone to message a loved one or email a friend? Of course, one would think that these communications are private as per our human rights.
Unfortunately, this may bot be the case anymore.
Following the European Court of Human Right's recent decision in the case of Mr Barbulescu, your employer could have the right to read all your private messages sent during work hours. The court ruled in Mr Barbulescu's favour saying that it was not "unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during the working hours". So much for sorting out your dinner planning between 9am-5pm, Monday - Friday.
Due to Mr Barbulescu's contract of employment restricting the use of private communication during working hours, his employer was able to view private messages and ultimately quash Mr Barbulescu's claim for unfair dismissal and breach of his right to privacy.
Let this be a warning, make sure you read through the terms of your employment contract or contact a solicitor to review the terms to ensure that you understand the implications and watch the content of your private messages.