Boundaries of the Private Space (Privacy) of an Educator and the Working Space of the Educational Organization (A Legal Aspect)

Abstract

The paper proposes to use the expression ‘personal space’ to refer to the concept of ‘private’ during the period of professional activity. A personal space refers to the space personal in content and parameters, surrounding an individual and including personal connections and communications of the individual used for personal purposes and distinguished from the field of labor and other public relations within which the person independently determines the mode of his or her behavior and other people’s behavior for comfortable autonomous existence (including establishing contact with some persons and preventing interference of other persons, objects, natural phenomena).The personal space can be described as part of private life. Accordingly, the right to the personal space is part of the legitimate right to secrecy and privacy. The legal assessment of intrusion into an employee’s personal space depends on the type and scope of the employer’s actions, the type of technical means, the affiliation of the technical means to the employee or employer, the type of processed information (data), the order of a local regulatory act adoption. The boundaries of an employee’s personal space are defined as the balance between the employee’s interest in secrecy and privacy and the employer’s interest in achieving the quality and efficiency of the labor force activities, security of workers, property and information. The paper substantiates the need to include in local acts of educational organizations a ban for educators during their training sessions to use a mobile phone, as well as to leave the phone in the mode of receiving audio incoming signals. Restrictions to take selfies in the workplace during the periods free from training sessions are formulated. It is substantiated that in order to respect privacy it is advisable to stipulate in the law the possibility for the educator to refuse to permit his or her personal data processing by the educational organization not relevant to the work and objectives set out in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation without negative consequences for the employee.