US bank Wells Fargo has made a wave of redundancies in recent weeks after claims that employees were ‘faking’ using their keyboards to show they were working.
It disclosed the issue in its recent filings with the country’s financial regulator.
New regulations are in place in the US that require brokers’ home offices to be inspected every three years.
The filings said staff had resigned or been fired “after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work”. According to reports by Bloomberg, more than 12 people were affected.
A spokesperson for the bank said it held employees to the “highest standards” and would not tolerate unethical behaviour.
Staff monitoring
Staff monitoring: ensure you consult before imposing a system
A number of employers have begun using staff monitoring tools since the post-pandemic increase in remote and hybrid working.
In January, it was reported that EY uses turnstile data to monitor office attendance in case of breaches to its hybrid working policy.
However, services company Serco was ordered by the Information Commissioner’s Office to stop biometric attendance monitoring and fingerprint scanning when workers clock in and out.
The ICO said the company was unlawfully processing biometric data to monitor attendance and to calculate pay. Last year, the data regulator produced workplace monitoring guidance for office-based and remote workers.
Gadgets are available online that enable employees to become “mouse jigglers”, simulating keyboard work while workers do something else.
At the start of 2022, Wells Fargo introduced a hybrid arrangement that required most employees to return to the office for at least part of the week.
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