Derek Mooney writes: On Tuesday the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published guidance on “the monitoring of workers by employers, and how this interacts with data protection.” The ICO says its guidelines are primarily aimed at employers and would:
- help provide greater regulatory certainty,
- protect workers’ data protection rights; and
- help employers to build trust with workers, customers, and service users.
The ICO hopes the guidance will provide clarity and practical advice to help employers to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It is aimed at all circumstances where there is an employment relationship or otherwise a relationship between an organisation and a person who performs work for the organisation, regardless of the nature of the contract. It uses the term ‘worker’ throughout “only to refer to someone who performs work for an organisation.”
In parallel with the guidance, the ICO also launched research findings that suggest that:
- 19% of people believe that they have been monitored by an employer
- 57% of the public would feel uncomfortable taking a new job if they knew that their employer would be monitoring them.
- 70% of people said they would find monitoring in the workplace intrusive
Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner - Regulatory Policy at the Information Commissioner’s Office, said:
“Our research shows that today’s workforce is concerned about monitoring, particularly with the rise of flexible working - nobody wants to feel like their privacy is at risk, especially in their own home.
“We are urging all organisations to consider both their legal obligations and their workers’ rights before any monitoring is implemented. While data protection law does not prevent monitoring, our guidance is clear that it must be necessary, proportionate and respect the rights of workers. We will take action if we believe people’s privacy is being threatened.”
