Message #41567

[elkiedee]

Re sending it to specific named addressee as confidential - I would email or telephone them first and ask where to send it - otherwise you may be sending it to the fax machine in the main office. Disclaimers apparently have no legally enforceable status - I have heard this from our contracts lawyers (in a local authority legal department. Often they're simply put on every communication from an organisation with the result that they don't really mean a lot.

I have also heard from someone with some justification that marking a letter visibly confidential just draws attention to it as something possibly juicy enough to be worth a peek. She was an employment law secretary in another council I used to work for.

Saying that, use a disclaimer if that's what you're asked to do, but if it's really a major issue of confidentiality, find out how to get it to named person or named person's PA/secretary - I'm sure I don't need to tell you how irritating it can be when people don't appreciate being discreet while helping those whose secretary you are is your job - to avoid it lying around in a visible place.

If you want to tell person you're sending contents are confidential, why not just include in a letter or memo - Please treat the contents of this as confidential. That's telling them without shouting to everyone else the way fax disclaimers or bold block capitals etc etc can.

Luci