One in three (32pc) of workers are now being monitored at work, says a trade union, which is concerned that these intrusive monitoring is particularly affecting workers in sectors with higher levels of remote working, larger proportions of younger workers, and low levels of trade union membership, such as the tech sector. Polling, by the pollster Opinium, for the union Prospect found 13pc of home workers being monitored by cameras.
The survey found that most, 80pc of workers thought that the use of webcams to monitor remote workers should either be banned (52pc) or heavily regulated (28pc); only 8pc of workers thinking that employers should be allowed to decide unilaterally when to use cameras to monitor people working in their own homes.
Younger workers (aged 18 to 34) are particularly at risk with a significantly higher rate of monitoring than their older colleagues, the survey suggested. About half, 48pc of younger workers report being monitored at work, including 20pc being monitored using cameras.
Prospect is seeking to unionise the tech sector. The trade union says its findings show that union members are twice as likely as non-union members to be consulted on the introduction of new technologies into their workplaces.
Prospect is calling for a range of measures to protect employees for intrusive monitoring. They have called on the UK data privacy regulator the ICO to toughen the regulation on the introduction of new monitoring technology in workplaces, ensuring that employees are consulted as part of this technology and there is transparency on how this tech is used. The union has called on the UK Government to consider explicitly banning the use of camera monitoring in peopleโs homes, making it illegal for employers to use webcams to check up on workers outside of meetings and calls.
Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said: โWe are used to the idea of employers checking up on workers, but when people are working in their own homes this assumes a whole new dimension. New technology allows employers to have a constant window into their employees homes, and the use of the technology is largely unregulated by government.
โWe think that we need to upgrade the law to protect the privacy of workers and set reasonable limits on the use of this snooping technology, and the public overwhelmingly agree with us.
โProspectโs new tech workers sector will be campaigning on this issue and other issues affecting tech workers, and I encourage any workers who are worried about monitoring to join Prospect and support our campaign.โ
As background, the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) in charge of data protection has gone out to consultation about a potential re-working of data protection law, as the current 2018 Act is passed on the European Union-wide GDPR, which came into force in the UK as it dated from before Brexit.
As for the law on monitoring staff in the workplace – at home or in an office – an organisation must do a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) covering nature, scope, context and purposes of the data processing. Briefly, a business may have ‘lawful basis‘ to process personal data, such as to monitor its staff – for example for the prevention of fraud, or protection of lone workers – but an organisation should document its reasoning.
Comment
Sridhar Iyengar, MD for tech firm Zoho Europe says: โThis new data is alarming and demonstrates how misuse of new technology can allow employers to invade staff privacy through, for example, viewing employees’ web browsing page by page, or even watching them at their home ‘desk’ via their webcam. It is even more concerning that the government does not regulate this technology. The ICO is right to guide bosses to ensure their staff are made aware of any remote monitoring and the reasons why it is being deployed. The practices raised in the research are clear examples of employer misuse of remote monitoring software and a violation of employee privacy.โ
โThis ’employee surveillance’ is driven by a culture of mistrust which is not in sync with the way working models are determined today. Organisations must find a new approach when it comes to measuring an employee’s productivity. Managers should judge performance based on results and not by clocking in or clocking out.โ
โWith remote working, a flexible approach is required. Working day hours may vary, and employers must understand this before breaching employee privacy and spying on workers. It is crucial to ensure a strong level of trust between employer and employee to make sure that the staff can work flexibly and still deliver on performance. A culture of trust must be a critical element to drive success in the new working era.
“Remote monitoring software has its place. For example, for employers to spot ways to improve work processes, identify under-use of applications and this may help determine where more staff training is required to aid adoption, for example. However, employers need to ensure this ethical use is in practice now and moving forwards in order to maintain a healthy culture where two-way trust is promoted. The building up of trust between the employer and staff is key to employee retention and longevity. No one would want to work in a ‘highly surveilled and monitored environment’. Companies who misuse remote monitoring tools for ‘staff surveillance’, face reputation damage and employees are likely to vote with their feet and find an employer with better values.โ
