Employer using covert surveillance

andygb

Hey, guess what folks, when you go to a place of work, you are supposed to work, and if you use the computers (which belong to the company), then IMO they have every right to monitor you.

Save all the personal S**t for home.

It really is not that difficult to understand - well for some folks it is!

Reue

getmore4less wrote: »

But then I am not the one with the problem of misusing work equipment or misjudging the places and people they work with.

Neither do I, although fortunatly my employer, colleagues and IT department understand that occasionally people do need to make personal calls/e-mails during working hours and allow for this.

orangeslimes

If they had reason to suspect you of something serious like fraud then it might be justified otherwise not unless they told you, and even then they should have a reason.

gjchester

orangeslimes wrote: »

If they had reason to suspect you of something serious like fraud then it might be justified otherwise not unless they told you, and even then they should have a reason.

I don't think they need a reason to monitor (and if they did it could be as simple as to protect the company reputation) but they do have to tell you monitoring is happening.

fruitedeli

andygb wrote: »

Hey, guess what folks, when you go to a place of work, you are supposed to work, and if you use the computers (which belong to the company), then IMO they have every right to monitor you.

Save all the personal S**t for home.

It really is not that difficult to understand - well for some folks it is!

Wrong. This is a breach of humans rights act 1998 and employees can sue for unfair constructive dismissal, and also petition the information commissioner to take steps to stop the employer covertly monitoring employees.

Employees must be informed they are being monitored and how. If covert monitoring is used, it can only be used to target specific individuals who are suspected to have done something wrong, and only for a limited duration and in a limited capacity. E.g. If you're suspected of misusing company phone they can only covertly record that employees phone, not activity on their computer etc, can't do this indefinitely, and can't apply this rule to everyone else.

gjchester

fruitedeli wrote: »

Wrong. This is a breach of humans rights act 1998 and employees can sue for unfair constructive dismissal, and also petition the information commissioner to take steps to stop the employer covertly monitoring employees.

My understanding is they can monitor you for any reason and for any length of time, however you have to be informed that it's happening, although not the exact details of the how as in many cases that would defeat the object of the monitoring.


Some places and people may be permanently monitored, such as banking or call centre workers where there are regulatory requirements that demand it.

fruitedeli

gjchester wrote: »

My understanding is they can monitor you for any reason and for any length of time, however you have to be informed that it's happening, although not the exact details of the how as in many cases that would defeat the object of the monitoring.


Some places and people may be permanently monitored, such as banking or call centre workers where there are regulatory requirements that demand it.

Read my entire post instead of quoting part of it. I was talking about covert monitoring, and monitoring employees for any length of time for any reason only applies to when they've been informed about it.

In a bank where employees are always monitored, there will be written notice somewhere for all employees to read. If it's CCTV it'll say there's hidden CCTV or if emails are checked randomly it might say that. Point is they won't say your phone might be recorded and then you suddenly find out they are disciplining you for a covert video recording of you smoking in the company's car park.

For call centres, it's likely to have a notice saying your phone conversation maybe recorded for training purposes.

As for what is a reasonable period of time to covertly monitor an employee suspected of wrongdoing, I've no idea lol. Laisydaisy or however you spell her name will probably know.

orangeslimes

The guidance on this about monitoring at work might be a good authoritative source:

http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/topic_guides/employment

My understanding is even if people are informed of the surveillance there is still supposed to be consideration of "whether the benefits justify the adverse impact" - and it doesn't give companies the right to randomly read personal emails etc.

orangeslimes

fruitedeli wrote: »

Wrong. This is a breach of humans rights act 1998

I think you mean Data Protection Act 1998 - but otherwise I agree.

fruitedeli

orangeslimes wrote: »

I think you mean Data Protection Act 1998 - but otherwise I agree.

It's a breach to right to a private life and private correspondance, a right guaranteed under article 8 of human rights act 1998. The onus is on the employer to prove the covert monitoring of the employee is proportionate to justify breaching these human rights. Can't just say oh I think he looks weedy... maybe he's a thief, I'll place hidden CCTV to spy on his every moment at work just in case he steals something.