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Staff monitoring

Employers commonly monitor employees’ behaviour in the workplace to ensure that rules are not being broken and employees are acting appropriately while representing the employer.

Common methods of monitoring staff include recording employees’ activities on CCTV, checking emails, listening to voicemails and monitoring telephone conversations.

Employers should inform employees that monitoring is taking place, how data is being collected, how the data will be securely processed and the purpose for which the data will be used. Employee will usually be entitled to see data that has been collected about them. In exceptional circumstances, the organisation may use monitoring covertly (for example, to catch a thief).


    • Employment law
    • Latest News
    • Discipline

    It’s time to properly vet the boardroom – not just employees

    by Susie Thomson 25 Jan 2024
    by Susie Thomson 25 Jan 2024

    For too long we’ve maintained a ‘hands-off’ and deferential attitude towards the boardoom argues Matrix Security Watchdog's Susie Thomson.

    • General Data Protection Regulation
    • France
    • Data protection

    Amazon fined €32m for ‘excessive’ employee monitoring

    by Ashleigh Webber 24 Jan 2024
    by Ashleigh Webber 24 Jan 2024

    Amazon has been fined €32m (£27m) for 'excessively monitoring' employees in its warehouses in France.

    • Data protection
    • Latest News
    • Staff monitoring

    ICO publishes workplace monitoring guidance

    by Rob Moss 3 Oct 2023
    by Rob Moss 3 Oct 2023

    The Information Commissioners Office has published new workplace monitoring guidance for both office-based and remote workers.

    • Hybrid working
    • Financial services
    • Latest News

    BNP Paribas monitors staff office attendance

    by Adam McCulloch 29 Sep 2023
    by Adam McCulloch 29 Sep 2023

    BNP Paribas says policy will allow it to identify workers who were finding it challenging to meet on-site working requirements

    • Artificial intelligence
    • General Data Protection Regulation
    • Automation

    Use monitoring tech only with employees’ consent, MPs say

    by Ashleigh Webber 8 Aug 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 8 Aug 2023

    Employers should only use worker monitoring tech, such as activity trackers, following consultation with staff, according to a group of MPs.

    • Latest News
    • Employment contracts
    • Staff monitoring

    Is it time to move the goalposts on social media?

    by Brigitte Weaver and George Warren 16 Mar 2023
    by Brigitte Weaver and George Warren 16 Mar 2023

    Should all organisations take another look at social media policies in the wake of the BBC's standoff with Gary Lineker over a comment on Twitter?

    • Canada
    • Artificial intelligence
    • HR software

    Employee monitoring software spots ‘time theft’ in unfair dismissal claim

    by Adam McCulloch 13 Jan 2023
    by Adam McCulloch 13 Jan 2023

    A civil tribunal in Canada has ruled that an employee should compensate her former employer for ‘time theft’ because tracking software had calculated she had misrepresented hours worked.

    • Employment law
    • Latest News
    • Staff monitoring

    Staff monitoring: ensure you consult before imposing a system

    by Gita Patel 25 Nov 2022
    by Gita Patel 25 Nov 2022

    Gita Patel explains that assessment and consultation are the way forward for firms wishing to implement staff monitoring systems.

    • Hybrid working
    • Employee communications
    • Latest News

    Half of bosses agree with home worker monitoring

    by Adam McCulloch 18 Oct 2022
    by Adam McCulloch 18 Oct 2022

    New research from the CIPD finds leaders open to the idea of using software to monitor employees.

    • Hybrid working
    • Latest News
    • Flexible working

    Can we monitor remote workers?

    by Rachel Tozer 29 Sep 2022
    by Rachel Tozer 29 Sep 2022

    With civil servants under pressure to be present at the office, there have been reports that some employees’ computer use...

    • Latest News
    • Health and safety
    • Business travel

    Personal safety is not just for lone workers

    by Naz Dossa 6 Sep 2022
    by Naz Dossa 6 Sep 2022

    Naz Dossa looks at how personal safety is an issue that affects more than just vulnerable or frontline staff.

    • Artificial intelligence
    • Hybrid working
    • Bullying and harassment

    Work in the metaverse: what should HR prepare for?

    by Alex Farrell-Thomas and Olivia Sinfield 1 Apr 2022
    by Alex Farrell-Thomas and Olivia Sinfield 1 Apr 2022

    It won’t be long before work in the metaverse becomes part of daily life, according to some predictions. But this...

    • Artificial intelligence
    • Employee relations
    • Latest News

    TUC warns against employee monitoring after Post Office scandal

    by Jo Faragher 28 Feb 2022
    by Jo Faragher 28 Feb 2022

    Employers should be under a legal requirement to consult workers before using artificial intelligence to monitor them.

    • Latest News
    • Confidentiality
    • Computer misuse

    HSBC Holdings employees under scrutiny for WhatsApp use

    by Jo Faragher 23 Feb 2022
    by Jo Faragher 23 Feb 2022

    HSBC Holdings is being investigated by US regulators over employees' use of WhatsApp

    • Artificial intelligence
    • Employee engagement
    • Ethics

    Why algorithms at work aren’t all bad

    by Pierre Lindmark 18 Jan 2022
    by Pierre Lindmark 18 Jan 2022

    It's easy to see AI as the enemy, but it offers many ways to boost employee engagement and work-life balance.

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