You can protect your confidential emails and any sensitive content by including a standard Email Disclaimer on all your emails. Including a disclaimer will not only ensure you make it clear that the email content is confidential and was intended for a particular recipient but it will also protect against any misuse of this information where possible.
In the absence of a disclaimer, an unintended recipient may be able to claim that they did not know or will not be aware that the information contained in the email is of a confidential nature. They may also try to use this information to their benefit and claim they did not know it was sent to them in error.
Additionally, an email disclaimer should include a requirement that any emails sent in error should not be used, content should be destroyed, the email should be immediately deleted and to promptly notify the sender that they received the email inadvertently.
Not only should confidential emails be protected with a disclaimer but it is advisable to include an email disclaimer in all emails that are being sent, particularly company or business emails, regardless of their nature or content. This is advisable as a disclaimer attempts to protect a company as well as an individual from misuse or claims resulting from an email sent in error. Emails sent in error may, in addition to breaching confidence, also involuntarily enter companies into contracts where sent to the wrong recipient, as well as misrepresent company views or positions on particular items.
Email Disclaimers go a long way in protecting you …
By limiting the liability of the sender, making the recipient aware of the confidential nature of the content and other information and requesting that any email sent in error be immediately destroyed, goes a long way to protecting a company through the inclusion of an automatic email disclaimer at the end of all emails.
Emails have become the major method of communication, including the form chosen for official public correspondence for many organizations. It is therefore very important to minimize the risk as much as possible for such email communication. Additionally, as the number of emails being sent by company employees increases, so does the risk of error. As this is the case, it is essential for emails, whether or not they contain confidential material, to include an email disclaimer and has become recommended best practice for all businesses.
