Yesterday, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that an employer has the right to monitor its employees' electronic communications, with some provisions (see link to decision). This decision limits a business's right to monitor its employees' electronic communications by emphasizing an employee's right to privacy.
Under this decision, employers will need to provide more than a short cursory notification that an employee's communications may be monitored. Rather, employers will need to have more detailed policies that: (1) notify its employees that their communications -- and the contents of such communications -- may be monitored, (2) state how the results of any monitoring can be used, (3) state its legitimate reasons to monitor the communications and to access the contents of such communications, and (4) describe how any monitoring will occur.
If you are an EU based business, you should examine your current electronic communication notice and revise it.