Re: A common misconeption
"that slip of paper is to ensure I really do understand my obligations as I was likely to come into contact with classified information on a regular basis which is something the average person on the street is unlikely to experience."
No, it isn't. It's because the OSA (depending on which section you're looking at) generally applies to three categories of people:
- Crown Servants, who are government employees and contractors engaged on government business
- "Government Contractors" who are typically non-government employees employed only indirectly (e.g. a defence contractor working on a bit of kit, for example)
And crucially
- Anyone who is notified in writing by the relevant minister that they are subject to the terms of the OSA.
Signing the OSA is to ensure that if, by some incredibly confluence of events, you are neither a crown servant nor a government contractor, you are still subject to the law through this third category of notified persons. In many circumstances they also make you sign it on your way out as well for exactly this reason - your employment might now be over but you bloody well still count.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
