In Indonesia, it is easy to change jobs, and even more extreme, depending on the industry, it is very common for people to move from one company to another in the same industry, and although confidentiality is receiving a lot of attention, it is an area in which there is relatively little internal logical armament. Rules and labor-management agreements need to be put in place to ensure that confidentiality violations are recognized. Above all, it is important to ensure that employees fully understand this to avoid any breach of confidentiality. So what do you need to prepare?

[Definition of confidentiality/confidential information]

Confidentiality means that ``specified confidential information and documents/drawings containing confidential information must not be leaked to third parties.'' Depending on the information, the third party referred to here may include "employees other than authorized persons" or "persons outside the company." In other words, it is necessary to clarify how many people should know this information.
Above all, it is important to clarify in advance what information must not be leaked. You can't criticize a breach of confidentiality by saying, "Isn't this common sense?" For example, it would be a breach of confidentiality for a human resources staff member to inform other employees of an employee's wage information, but it would not be a breach of confidentiality for a supervisor who has the authority to know the employee's wages, and it would be difficult to say that it would be a breach of confidentiality for an employee to tell another employee the amount of the employee's wages after learning about the employee's wages. It is very difficult to determine whether each piece of information is subject to confidentiality, so it is effective to set out a confidentiality clause in the employment regulations/labor agreement and clearly state what information is subject to confidentiality.

[Labor-management agreement regarding confidentiality]

Even if the company insists that confidential information must not be leaked, employees need to be aware of this and agree to it. If a company establishes work rules or company rules, makes them known, and obligates employees to comply with all company rules in employment contracts, etc., and creates a situation where employees agree, this can be said to be an agreement between labor and management. Additionally, if there is a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that violates the duty of confidentiality, and an agreement has been made with the labor union, this can also be said to be an agreement between labor and management. This is because the labor union, as the employee representative, has agreed to the agreement, so it has the same meaning as if each employee had agreed. However, in order to ensure that employees fully understand and comply, it is effective to create a separate confidentiality agreement with each existing employee and include a confidentiality clause in the employment contract for new employees. Since each employee clearly declares what they agree to, it becomes easier for the company to implement the policy thoroughly.

On the other hand, there are also cases where a confidentiality agreement is drawn up at the time of resignation. Although it is effective, the conclusion itself is difficult. Particularly in the case of employees who voluntarily resign in order to change jobs, there are many cases where the information from the current company is what the new company originally wanted. Even if you say, ``I won't let you resign unless you sign a confidentiality agreement,'' there is usually no obligation to sign the confidentiality agreement. You can't force employees to do things that aren't their obligation, and even if you say you won't let them resign, it's the same thing if they stop coming to work. Therefore, it is best to conclude a confidentiality agreement at the time of joining the company, and it will be difficult to apply unless it is concluded at the latest while you are still employed, or it is clearly stated in the work regulations/labor agreement and made well known.