Email disclaimers are designed as an attempt to limit the sender's liability for the content of a message. However, their ability to prevent liability for negligent behaviour is very limited. If someone is discriminated against or the email content is racist then a disclaimer will not make the offence disappear. At best it may be possible to show that you have attempted to limit the damage by indicating that the content is confidential and if received in error that it should be clear to the recipient that the material is confidential and should be treated as such. The following article provides some explanation on this subject - http://www.venables.co.uk/n0209emaildisclaim.htm.
You may also be interested to read the detailed treatment of the ‘Legal Position of Email Disclaimers' available at - http://www.weblaw.co.uk/artemail.php.
In addition the information available on the Manchester Metropolitan University website concerning their use of an email disclaimer is available at: http://www.isu.mmu.ac.uk/general/faqs/email-disclaimers-faq.shtml.
"To this end, Directorate has approved a policy requiring that all external e-mails sent by staff of the University carry a disclaimer explaining the legal aspects of the message.
The legal value of such disclaimers is yet to be tested in court, but the best opinion available is that they can only strengthen the University's position in the event of any dispute."
Templates
Some of the clearest information on disclaimers is available on the 'Business Link' website which is primarily funded by the UK Department of Trade and Industry - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk. Search for "Business email disclaimer - sample template" on the home page http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/. At that location there is a 'Business email disclaimer - sample template' which can be downloaded and could be adapted to suit.
You should also check the information on the OUT-LAW website at - http://www.out-law.com/page-5536 entitled "Email notices and email footers".
Specifically it clarifies that there is no legal authority on the effectiveness of these notices in email messages but that is not to say that they should not be used, provided care is taken in drafting them. The disclaimer and the confidentiality notice are intended to serve different purposes, and ideally should be separated.
Business emails are required to include certain mandatory information.
" ...
Mandatory information
If your business is a private or public limited company or a Limited Liability Partnership, the Companies Act 1985 requires all of your business emails (and your letterhead and order forms) to include the following details in legible characters:
- your company registration number;
- your place of registration (e.g. Scotland or England & Wales ); and
- your registered office address
..."
This information should also appear on your company's website (and for an overview of other information that is required on a website, see our guide to the UK’s E-commerce Regulations). Failure to comply with these requirements puts a company at risk of a fine.
The duty has existed for business letters for many years. But some people were unsure whether this duty extended to email communication. Any doubt was removed by an amendment to the Companies Act 1985 that took effect on 1st January 2007. Not all emails will be relevant to your business but most companies will find it easier to add the information to all outgoing emails, including those messages that forward or reply to a third party's email.
For avoidance of doubt, these details are not required of sole traders or standard partnerships.