Opening post

[Brainflex]

Is it legal for the company I work for to open post/parcels sent to me?
I do this for convenience but the last few have been opened by the MD. Where does this leave me if anything is missing?

Thanks

[Bogflogger]

Opening post clearly adressed to another person is 'Interfering with Royal Mail' and is a Criminal Offence.

[BorderReiver]

Ask your union rep to have a quiet word.

Interfereing with the Royal mail;invasion of privacy;human rights etc.

[Tiffers]

Do you have your companies permission to receive your post at work?

Tiffers

[Brainflex]

Do you have your companies permission to receive your post at work?

Tiffers

They haven't forbidden it.

[Bogflogger]

Regardless, the Company MD has absolutely NO Legal right to open post clearly adressed to another person, it is Illegal for him to do so.

[Tiffers]

Personally I would have asked before receiving anything. Then, as and when stuff arrives I would have just made sure I put it to one side and looked at it in my own time.

It might be that your boss has become aware of the amount of stuff you are receiving and think you are taking the mick. As far as I am aware its not an automatic right for everyone to receive their mail at work.

My boss has absolutely no problems with me receiving stuff at work and actually gets quite excited about it as he is becoming interested in knives now too However I dont kick the backside out of it and reserve my work address for things I'm desperate to receive. I guess about 50% of stuff gets sent to work which amounts to a couple of bits a month, if that.

Tiffers

[Danzo]

Woah, and halt.

This isn't very complex. It is almost certain that your company has the right to open mail addressed to you at their address UNLESS YOU LIVE THERE. If not it's business mail, and openable by anyone the company authorizes to so do.

If you don't live there then you should have your mail sent to your home address. Otherwise it's their property, their company and their post.

Danzo

[thomas]

Woah, and halt.

This isn't very complex. It is almost certain that your company has the right to open mail addressed to you at their address UNLESS YOU LIVE THERE. If not it's business mail, and openable by anyone the company authorizes to so do.

If you don't live there then you should have your mail sent to your home address. Otherwise it's their property, their company and their post.

Danzo

thats what i thought.
otherwise i have broken the law a numbe of times when i was a storeman.

[Brainflex]

Danzo, I don't get my post sent to work, I occasionly get stuff there when I know that no one will be home to sign for it, this has gone up in frequency a bit at the mo, as I am emigrating soon and need to get everything sorted. So some important/urgent stuff goes to work. Unfortunately the MD is sulking due to me leaving and is now opening anything with my name on. Before I took this up with him I wished to check the legality of it.

[Bogflogger]

Sounds like you need to join every Book-Club and Catalog Company in the UK before you leave.

[Danzo]

Danzo, I don't get my post sent to work, I occasionly get stuff there when I know that no one will be home to sign for it, this has gone up in frequency a bit at the mo, as I am emigrating soon and need to get everything sorted. So some important/urgent stuff goes to work. Unfortunately the MD is sulking due to me leaving and is now opening anything with my name on. Before I took this up with him I wished to check the legality of it.

I see your point, but I still think there is an issue with this being the companys business premises. I don't think you have any right to have private mail sent there.

I'll see if I can dig up the relevent law, whatever it is!

Danzo

[Andy]

I have on occasions been asked to send stuff to peoples work and mark it as private on confidential so that others wont open it. They may still have the legal right to open it but it may stop them doing.

[Alex0r]

Tell him gillian mckeith is sending back the stool sample she analysed for you.

[Mr_Yarrow]

I tend to warn the post room. As I work for a large company and the particular building has a few hundred employees over several floors, I find its best to get to know your post room guys as its amazing the postal 'savings' that can be made. Also by warning them, they now know to not put it through the x-ray machine

Rgds