Big bother for ‘Big Brother’ bosses
Monitoring in the workplace has become such a hot issue in recent times with more organisations keeping a watchful eye on their employees. Monitoring practices extend to email and internet use, clocking in systems and even CCTV. It is important that employees understand their rights, writes Sadiq Vohra, a partner and employment law specialist at MWR Solicitors.
CCTV is an area which has caused many problems between employer and employee relations. Many companies want to use CCTV to monitor issues such as vandalism in the organisation’s premises, however, there are regulations that company bosses must adhere to in order for the placement of CCTV to be legal. Should an employee have a grievance with the placement of CCTV in their workplace’s private areas, there are several elements to consider.
Where the organisation in question is a private body, CCTV and monitoring in the workplace is not covered directly by the Human Rights Act. It is the Data Protection Act which is applied in these circumstances and this provides some general regulation to the way a company can collect CCTV footage of their employees.
The Information Commissioner, who deals with the enforceability of the Data Protection Act, has published specific guidance in this area.
Under this guidance, organisations who wish to monitor their employees should carry out an “impact assessment” in order to decide if and how to carry out such activities. In this assessment, there are a number of issues that should be addressed including:
a) identifying a clear purpose behind monitoring;
b) identifying the benefits monitoring is likely to deliver;
c) identifying any adverse impact monitoring could have – for example, whether monitoring would impact on the implied contract term of trust and confidence that is in all contracts of employment or how oppressive/demeaning monitoring would be to the employees;
d) considering any alternatives to monitoring or the method of monitoring employees;
e) judging whether monitoring is justified;
f) considering the obligations that come hand in hand with monitoring employees.
The Information Commissioner has also published a CCTV code which further suggests that the “impact assessment” mentioned above should be well documented. This code also recommends that signs warning of the use of CCTV cameras should be put up and should include details of who to contact if they have any queries.
I would advise any employees in this situation who have a grievance about their employer placing CCTV in their workplace, to ask for a copy of any documentation produced by the company when considering their “impact assessment” for using CCTV in the workplace.
As I have explained above, this impact assessment can reveal a number of pieces of information that may provide the workforce with some answers or in the least a little reassurance.
In particular, the main piece of information I would recommend they obtain from the impact assessment is the purpose for which the employer consider the CCTV is to be used. If the use of CCTV is solely for the prevention of crime, it may be an idea to ask the management to ensure in writing that the footage collected is not used in any other disciplinary circumstances other than those relating to criminal matters. If it is for a wider purpose, then I would recommend that questions are asked about whether such use is justified.
I would also ask for clarification of the length of time CCTV footage is kept by the employer. The Data Protection Act is clear when stating that images and data should not be kept for longer than is necessary. The employee should request that if the images are to be kept, a policy should be drawn up to put the employees’ minds at rest. This policy should address:-
a) the length of time that the images are to be kept;
b) why the images are to be kept for this length of time;
c) how the images will be disposed of.
Contact Sadiq Vohra on 0800 731 0717 for further advice.
Email sadiq.vohra@mwrlaw.com
