Can employers make you use a camera when you work from home.

superbigal

Work Naked and see if they ask you to switch it off or not.

turnitround

Is it really worth becoming an 'awkward' employee or even worse, losing your job on a principle. If everyone else working for the company complies then you are making things difficult for yourself by refusing.

Ath_Wat

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

turnitround

Ath_Wat said:

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

Presumably the camera will be placed on the desk the OP is working from. He won't be taking it into the kitchen when he makes a brew or the loo when he is taking something else. The house is hardly going to be on display for everyone to see. 

TELLIT01

I like the idea of using an external monitor, keyboard and mouse and closing the lid of the laptop.  If you can't close the lid completely you can certainly drop it far enough to prevent anybody seeing you.  The OP may not have a private area to work in, I know many people who had to using dining room tables and had family members back and forward all the time.  Using the camera for meetings is one thing, but all day surveillance does seem Big Brotherish.

Undervalued

Ath_Wat said:

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

It would only see one small part of the house behind the OP's desk.

As other have said, with less than two years service them employer could easily insist on this if it is important to them. Even with more than two years service it could well be deemed to be a reasonable management instruction.

If the OP worked in a typical open plan office they would be on view to all and sundry whilst at work, so I struggle to see why this is such a problem. 

I assume the OP is aware that anybody can lawfully film or photograph them anytime they are in a public place, or anywhere that can be seen from a public place. They don't need the OP's consent.

Ath_Wat

turnitround said:

Ath_Wat said:

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

Presumably the camera will be placed on the desk the OP is working from. He won't be taking it into the kitchen when he makes a brew or the loo when he is taking something else. The house is hardly going to be on display for everyone to see. 

And there is not only me in my house, and as I say, if I was asked to work from home, and don't have a dedicated space to work from, there's no way I am agreeing to it.  You can if you feel you want to; nobody should have to.

turnitround

Ath_Wat said:

turnitround said:

Ath_Wat said:

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

Presumably the camera will be placed on the desk the OP is working from. He won't be taking it into the kitchen when he makes a brew or the loo when he is taking something else. The house is hardly going to be on display for everyone to see. 

And there is not only me in my house, and as I say, if I was asked to work from home, and don't have a dedicated space to work from, there's no way I am agreeing to it.  You can if you feel you want to; nobody should have to.

Then I suppose it's down to how much you value your job. You accepted that you would be working from home so presumably have a space to work from. It seems your problem is just with the camera. Why would that be?

Sea_Shell

Are you hoping to be able to get away with being less than "publicly" presentable whilst working from home?

In your PJs? 

It must be tempting not to have to bother with hair and make-up at home, unless you have specific meetings arranged.

To have to "dress for the office" when you're not there, would be a PITA.

Is this what this is about?

Ath_Wat

turnitround said:

Ath_Wat said:

turnitround said:

Ath_Wat said:

Merlin139 said:

When you said you were not comfortable using the tablet what was your managers reply?  

Cannot see what the problem is here. If you were working in an office environment then you could be seen by all the other people there and may well be being monitored by CCTV.

How is that any different to a tablet with a camera on it?

The fact that it's not your house is a pretty big difference.

If you have requested to work from home and don't have a space dedicated to work, that could be seen as your own problem, but if the company want you to work from home, there's no way I'd agree to have my house on constant camera all day.  

Presumably the camera will be placed on the desk the OP is working from. He won't be taking it into the kitchen when he makes a brew or the loo when he is taking something else. The house is hardly going to be on display for everyone to see. 

And there is not only me in my house, and as I say, if I was asked to work from home, and don't have a dedicated space to work from, there's no way I am agreeing to it.  You can if you feel you want to; nobody should have to.

Then I suppose it's down to how much you value your job. You accepted that you would be working from home so presumably have a space to work from. It seems your problem is just with the camera. Why would that be?

Because I can.  I have enough value in the job market to turn down ridiculous things like this.  But that is not how it should be.  Nobody should have to accept this kind of idiocy.  Do you think the CEO is accepting those sort of conditions (despite being orders of magnitude more likely to have a dedicated office) or do you think it's just for the little people they think they can bully?

As jobs are being made home based to save money on office premises, people are not electing to take them, they are being forced to.  It's pathetic for anyone to say that employers can force people to have a camera constantly running where other people are trying to live in the house.