IT Staff Idemity Letter Needed (Sensative Subject)

[ICTNUT]

Hi All,

 

I am after a letter of sorts than can be provided to IT Tech Staff when they leave employment that will idemnify the school if theyare found to have used school software and / or licence keys outside school when no longer in the employment of the school.

 

Having worked in a few IT establishments I know this can and does happen and I have seen software companies come down hard on the purchasers ofthe software for thier keys getting out in the open.

 

Seeing that the people working in this area have full access to these things I want to know how other schools cover themselves.

 

It is not possible to amend the employment contracts so it would have to be another letter provide to them when they are in thier final week say.

[russdev]

Well not got any letter but if work for lea school then ask the lea legal department to draft something up for you..

 

Russell

[Geoff]

Yep LEA legal need to do this for you.

[ICTNUT]

Hmmm, I did not think of that, i'll give them a call and see what they can do.

 

Cheers guys

[pete]

Have you considered how you'll deal with any who refuse to sign it? They're under no obligation to do so if currently employed by the school.

 

I assume you'll be amending future employment contracts?

[ITWombat]

Hi All,

I am after a letter of sorts than can be provided to IT Tech Staff when they leave employment that will idemnify the school if theyare found to have used school software and / or licence keys outside school when no longer in the employment of the school.

 

Having worked in a few IT establishments I know this can and does happen and I have seen software companies come down hard on the purchasers ofthe software for thier keys getting out in the open.

 

As such letters really necessary? As the fromer employee isn't the legal licensee or covered by the agreement with software company then it would be likely using a company car without permission after employment had ceased.

 

In the end a school can only do much to control the distrubtion of software it has bought/licensed. Unless it had search powers to enter peoples homes then it has to trust its employees.

[kylewilliamson]

Isn't it theft as a servant to take software keys?

[EduTech]

Yep ask the LEA they should be able to help you

 

@kylewilliamson: you have a point there i was going to say the same thing.. aint it theft hmmm! :|

[bossman]

Are we saying that our profession within the education sector is fraught with thieves who at the drop of a hat would act like thy have no morals or ethics?

 

ICTNUT: do you have worries about some of your staff or have you sacked someone lately for that very thing?

 

Seems a little like overkill from my side of the fence.

[bishopsgarthstockton]

that sucks, now i feel i can not be trusted.... i feel so angry

[ICTNUT]

It's not a case of trust as I do trust my staff, it is purely a case of accountability.

 

I have been in cituations in previous employment (not education) where emplyees have left and take CD's, CD Keys etc and have then proceeded to distribute them among friends, and thier friends pass them on and so on.

 

As Network Manager I have ultimate responsability to ensure that the software purchased by the school does not end up in the public domain and if it does so there is some form of cover.

 

The best way I can see this is to have either a letter or something built into the contract of employment that clearly states that once you have left the employment of the school you will not use or distribute any of its software or associated license keys.

 

I have been in a cituation where a companies keys got out into the open and the software vendor blocked the keys from being verified which resulted in a long battle (13 months) to get the software unlocked with new keys, and during this time the software could not be used on new PC's.

 

All I am trying to do is to have some proof that we (I) have covered our (my) back and made every effort to ensure this kind of thing does not happen.

 

@bishopsgarthstockton: Sorry you feel this way but it is something that has to be tackled at some point.

[CyberNerd]

I don't see why you need any such letter/contract. All your asking is for staff not to break the law. I don't have anything written deep into my contact saying I musn't go around murdering people. If staff steal your licenses, report them to the police and sack them.

[contink]

Are we saying that our profession within the education sector is fraught with thieves who at the drop of a hat would act like thy have no morals or ethics?

 

Seems a little like overkill from my side of the fence.

I'd disagree purely because human nature is not external to our profession. There are plenty of people who walk out of a job where they had access to all sorts of tools (eg: Adobe CS2/3, etc...) that are useful and may well have benefits for them in their next job or just at home and they don't want or can't fork out £400+ for them.

 

It's easily done and we're not immune.

 

You might as well argue that the terms and conditions on this forum are overkill because "none of us would ever malign, harrass, racially abuse, etc...".. Fact is people sometimes do step over the line.

 

Overall though, I'd have thought that something like a letter would be an "After the fact" type thing when it'd be better to have this covered in the employment contract.

[enjay]

Is this a real-life situation you're asking about, or is it hypothetical? The reason I ask is that I would be very surprised if FAST or whoever went guns blazing for the school Governors because of the IT tech stealing something. A crime (be it piracy, theft or whatever) has been committed for which action could be taken but the crime was not committed by the school as an establishment. If the Govs knew the CDs were being passed round, it might be different, but I'm sure the theft wasn't being done with their consent.

 

As an aside, can I ask why you only want something which applies after the employee has left? Can we infer from this that you are happy for people to pass licence keys to their friends so long as they remain in the school's employment?!

[witch]

Be fair, NickJones, he wasn't thinking about what they are doing whilst in employment - but it wouldn't hurt to put it in the contract that nothing belonging the school can be used off the premises etc at any time during or after employment

[enjay]

That was my point, Witch, we should be thinking about what current employees are doing, not just the ones who have left.

[apoth0r]

At the end of the day it is very hard to have total control, we live in a democratic society where we expect people to behave in a way that does not effect others and certainly does not break the law. If people are stealing then they need to be dealt with higher up, it should not be the responsibility of the ICT technician or manager to be chasing staff for suspected law breaking.

[thegrassisgreener]

Post Removed

 

Please do not insult other members we expect people to act in professional manner.

 

Russell Dyas

Site Admin

[Guest aliv25]

LEA all the way

[mjs_mjs]

as a little aside - some software lisencing alow staff to use softwares at home for work use. under a schools agreement, for example, you could take sever 2008 home to test it out in your own time. providing you have the correct lisencing this would be fine. the issue comes when your staff abuse the lisencing. this could happen at any point in their employment, or after. you just have to trust your staff and be vigilant. here, education is key.

 

also as it is stealing, it is a crime and a sackable offence under almost all contracts, in a school or not. you have to give you door keys in before you leave, why should lisence keys be any different?