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Are you being spied on at work?
Is big brother watching you?
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Is your boss watching you?
If you work in an office and are using computers, that have access to the internet, then it is very likely that your boss is watching every key stroke you make.
If you're in a shop then the CCTV is not only looking at the customers it is also following you.
If you work for a government department you could even have MI5 or Special Branch checking up on what you are doing.
Is this legal surely I have a right to privacy? Well the answer is no you don't and yes it is. Providing, of course, the company follow the various laws and codes of practice that Parliament and the Information Commissioner have set up.
This issue is a very complicated as there are five laws that cover the monitoring of staff at work these are:
These laws give your boss the right to monitor your activities in such areas as e-mail, telephone, fax, access to the Internet etc.
They also contain safeguards so that if the monitoring is too intrusive you can seek an injunction against the company.
If you find the situation is becoming too bad you could resign and consider taking a case to the Employment Tribunal for constructive unfair dismissal, but proving a case for constructive dismissal can be very difficult.
The company should only monitoring you if you are told that they are undertaking monitoring and the amount and level they are using.
There is a code of practice, called the Employment Practices Data Protection Code, which companies should follow when monitoring the activities of their employees. The Code gives examples of good practice with regard to staff being made aware of the level of monitoring. It suggestes that you could have pop up reminding you that you are being monitored and the message on the telphone, saying it is being recorded, should to the employee as well as the customer.
If you're not happy with the way thngs are being carried out in your firm you might want to have a look at:
- 1. check your individual contract of employment or staff handbook or elsewhere, or ask the employer, to see if there are any policies about monitoring, and if so, what they say
- 2. If there is a policy about monitoring, you should have been informed about it under the Lawful Business Practice Regulations (LBPR) and under the Data Protection Act. You should compare the policy to the guidance produced by the Information Commissioner in the Code and the conditions set out under LBPR to check whether it complies.
If it doesn’t comply then you have a range of options some inside the company and others outside
- Firstly contacting your trade union, professional association, staff association to seek their help in talking to the employer next.
- negotiating with the employer and finally
- taking action under the company’s grievance procedure
If you want to go further than this you will need to go outside the company and this could mean going to the Information Commissioner and asking them if the employer is complying with the Data Protection Act.
This could led you to court action to seek compensation and you would need to seek advice from a specialist lawyer.
You may also be able to claim compensation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act for unlawful interception of communications and possibly Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention.
Finally you could try and claim compensation for breach of confidence in the civil courts. In effect, this means you would be claiming constructive dismissal because you would be claiming that the employment contract had been fundamentally breached BUT you would have to resign in order to claim and as said previously such cases are very difficult to prove.
To take any of these actions apart from talking to your manager you will need highly specialised advice either from a solicitor specialising in employment and/or human rights law. Your local CAB may be able to help.
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