Many people are forced to work in conditions when they have access to any confidential information. This applies not only to public service, but also to private companies. Employees of institutions must be responsible not only in the performance of their labor duties, but also in compliance with the requirements of the employer. They do not have the right to disclose confidential information, otherwise they are held liable for the disclosure of trade secrets. It may be disciplinary, administrative or criminal. In addition, the employer may forcibly dismiss an employee from the company.
The concept of trade secrets
Confidential information is information about the work of any state body or commercial institution, which should not be transferred to third parties. Additionally, this includes various documents and other materials related to the work of the company.
Each company uses certain technologies and materials during its work, which can only be accessed by officials or employees with specific powers. They usually sign a document on the basis of which they undertake to keep trade secrets. Confidentiality of information is a mandatory requirement for such employees.
What data is confidential?
Such important information includes:
- technology for creating a product;
- implemented know-how in the production process;
- the amount of profit or loss from the activities of the enterprise;
- industrial innovative designs;
- counterparties to organizations that are buyers, suppliers or other partners.
Information can be obtained from various documents or electronic media. Each employee, admitted to confidential information, must keep trade secrets, otherwise the employer may take different penalties.
Types of Crime
Basic information on the disclosure of confidential information is contained in Art. 183 of the Criminal Code. Here are the main types of violations by employees. These varieties include:
- distribution of secret materials containing information on the activities of the company;
- access to secret information of unauthorized persons;
- selling information to third parties who use this data for personal gain.
Such actions by employees of the company are recognized as a crime, regardless of the consequences of the disclosure of trade secrets. Even if a citizen has only attempted to transmit confidential information, he can still be held accountable.
How is company privacy set?
If the company wants to keep any information about its work secret, then it must establish a special regime of commercial secret. For this, the following requirements are taken into account:
- agreements are made with all employees of the enterprise, on the basis of which access is given to certain specialists to any confidential information;
- all documents containing important information are marked with a special stamp;
- a special Regulation on trade secrets is being developed by the personnel department.
The management of any organization should understand what information is confidential and what data employees can freely distribute.
What is not a secret?
Confidentiality of information is the preservation by employees of secrecy about the activities and materials of the company. But at the same time, there is some data that may be distributed by employees even if there is a restriction on the part of management. The following information may not be classified as a trade secret:
- the number and composition of employees;
- conditions in which labor is carried out;
- information regarding injuries sustained by employees while working in the company;
- information on various activities related to labor protection;
- data on the use of various funds received from the state or municipality;
- environmental situation at the enterprise;
- debts on salaries or social contributions;
- information from accounting.
Therefore, if an employee disseminates information about the above factors, then he can in no way be held liable for the disclosure of trade secrets.
The nuances of crime
Basic information on the dissemination of confidential data is contained in Federal Law No. 98. The features of such a crime include:
- if information is disclosed without obtaining consent from the owner of the company, then the offender is prosecuted under Art. 183 of the Criminal Code;
- if the violator pursues any selfish goals, then compensation may be additionally collected from him;
- if such actions led to grave consequences for the company, then penalties for the employee are being tightened.
If there are no serious consequences, and the employee does not receive any benefit from his actions, he will be held administratively liable. If data that is not confidential by law is disseminated at all, then even if the management of the company wishes to punish the employee, he will not be held liable. This refers to the situation when a citizen makes a complaint to the employer regarding the delay in salary. In this case, the head of the company cannot prohibit the specialist from distributing such information.
How to prove the guilt of an employee?
To hold an employee accountable for disclosing trade secrets, company management must have official evidence of citizen guilt. Any unfounded accusations are not considered by law enforcement agencies, so the head of the company must confirm the guilt of the employee. To do this, the rules are taken into account:
- the company must have an order based on which access to confidential information is provided for certain employees;
- the company approved the procedure for admitting citizens to this information;
- a specific employee signed a special non-disclosure subscription;
- the conditions are determined under which a person transferred information to unauthorized persons, since if he did not carry out this process voluntarily, but under physical or moral pressure, he will be released from liability;
- reveals the method by which confidential information was transmitted, for example, oral transmission of information, sending by mail or using electronic media;
- the reasons why the employee violated the requirements of the employer.
If an employee of the company did not have access to this information, but accidentally found out about certain facts, then he has the right to easily disseminate this information. An employer does not have the right to hold him liable for the illegal receipt and disclosure of information constituting a commercial, tax or banking secret.
Where to contact the head of the company?
If the director of the company really has evidence that a particular employee of the company has violated trade secrets, then he most often decides to hold the offender accountable. To do this, the following actions are performed:
- an employee who is a direct criminal is identified;
- even if the citizen has already been dismissed, anyway he is sent a request for an explanatory note to understand under what circumstances the violation was committed;
- Further, this fact is checked to find out the circumstances and reasons for the commission of an illegal act;
- if signs of a crime are really revealed, then to bring a person to criminal responsibility for disclosing trade secrets, you must contact the law enforcement authorities;
- for this, an official statement is drawn up to which previously collected evidence of the guilt of a particular employee is attached;
- the statement spells out all the circumstances by which it is confirmed that the actions of the employee are a crime, and not a violation of the rules of the company.
It is recommended that when preparing a statement to the police indicate the negative consequences for the company that arose as a result of the employee's activities. This will be taken into account in the process of initiating criminal proceedings and sentencing.
Types of liability for the disclosure of trade secrets
Workers who violate the requirements of the law and the employer will certainly be punished for their illegal actions. The type of responsibility depends on various factors, and the following varieties are distinguished:
- disciplinary liability is applied if the employee’s actions are connected only with violation of the internal company routine, for which a reprimand is appointed, a comment, or an employee can leave the company altogether;
- administrative responsibility is to pay a fine of 500 rubles or more. up to 1 thousand rubles, but if the offender is a company, then the fine for it will increase to 5 thousand rubles, but such measures are applied only if there are no negative consequences of the disclosure of secrets;
- criminal liability is applied in case of grave consequences or pursuit by a violator of mercenary goals.
If a person is held criminally liable for disclosing trade secrets, then the specific punishment is chosen only by the court during the trial.
Penalties under the Criminal Code
Most often, citizens are prosecuted for unlawful disclosure of trade secrets. This is due to the fact that people through their actions are trying to get any financial benefit. They may share important information with competitors or other interested parties. For such a crime, the court may use the following types of punishments:
- a fine in the amount of 1 to 1.5 million rubles, which may be replaced by a citizen's income received during two years of work;
- a ban on holding high posts or carrying out activities in various significant areas;
- correctional or forced labor for a period of 2 to 5 years;
- imprisonment for up to 7 years.
Therefore, each employee must be responsible for the confidential information received from the employer. Although many companies protect trade secrets, there are often situations where officials violate the requirements of firms and the law.
Can the director of an organization punish an employee on their own?
Violators are not always prosecuted under the Criminal Code for disclosing trade secrets. Often, employers themselves decide to punish such negligent employees. For this, punishment is used in the framework of bringing a citizen to disciplinary liability.
The employer may reprimand or comment, but most often, for such a serious violation, the employee simply leaves the company. It is possible to challenge such a decision of the head of the company only on the condition that the citizen has evidence that the information circulated is not a commercial secret or that information was accidentally received.
Conclusion
If an employee of the company disseminates secret information about the organization, he may be held administrative, disciplinary or criminally liable. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the disclosure of trade secrets is a serious crime, for which a large fine, imprisonment or forced labor can be assigned. To hold an employee accountable, some conditions must be met at the enterprise itself.
Certain information cannot be considered a commercial secret, therefore, its dissemination cannot become the basis for dismissal of an employee or for seeking help from law enforcement agencies.