The Regional Labour Court of Hessen ruled by judgement of 24
January 2012 (docket no. 19 SaGa 1480/11) that an employer must
delete any data concerning an employee (e.g. name or photos)
published on its home page without undue delay once the employee
has left the company, as it otherwise infringes the employee's
personal rights.
In the case to be decided by the Regional Labour Court, the
employer still had the employee's profile on its homepage after
the former had left the company, and also published information on
the news section of its homepage to the effect that the employee
worked in a certain corporate division. After the end of the
employment relationship such publications unlawfully encroach upon
the personal rights of the employee and must therefore be
deleted.
An employer can only make an exception hereto if it has obtained
the employee's written consent to the continued publication of
such notifications. The same naturally also applies to any
brochures or other printed products containing photos of or other
information concerning an employee who has already left the
company.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.