You’re on CCTV

3 minute read | July 23, 2017

That movie was called Sliver. If you haven’t seen it consider yourself lucky, if you have, I’m sorry.

The reason I have brought up this monstrosity of a movie is due to the subject matter at hand, the monitoring of an individual and the risks it creates, and we’re not just talking about a bad Rotten Tomatoes score…

CCTV in the workplace

As an employer, there are several reasons you may want to install CCTV in the workplace. Security, health and safety, protecting your business assets, assessing and improving productivity and compliance are the main ones. But while there may be legitimate reason for using surveillance there are also a number of associated risks.

For example…

Mutual trust

It’s a tough sell to employees that you will be recording them while on the job. Regardless of intent, the feeling will be that you do not trust them. The key here is to be clear from the outset of your intentions for using CCTV and the impact it will have on the business.

And remember, employers have a legal obligation to not act in a way, without reasonable and proper cause, which is likely to destroy or damage the relationship of mutual trust and confidence between themselves and employees.

Data protection

Holding data on employees, especially visually monitored data, could result in an increase in subject access requests (SARs) on information held. It can become a waste of time and money to be dealing with requests and ICO (Independent Commissioner’s Office) investigations from nervous employees. Always be sure to act in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and its eight key principles.

Human Rights

Employers in the public sector should be aware of the right to privacy for employees under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). Employers in the private sector also need consider their actions when it relates to this act, although it can be argued that it is necessary to protect data. In any case, you will need to ensure that any monitoring is not disruptive or intrusive as a tribunal or court is likely to take that into account when making their decision.

Managing the risk

Here are some practical tips on how to effectively manage the risk associated with CCTV in the workplace:

Carry out an impact assessment.

The ICO recommends this for justifying CCTV use. The assessment should identity:

The purpose and likely benefits
Adverse impacts (if any)
Alternative options for achieving the desired results
Obligations in regards to employee monitoring
Whether the decision is justifiable

Be clear about the levels of privacy an employee can expect.

Changing rooms, break areas and toilets are going to be difficult locations to argue the justifiability of CCTV. Public entrance ways are an easier sell when it comes to expected privacy. Recording an entrance way to a department could result in a small number of employee desks being in shot. Rather than arguing the case, it may be beneficial to adjust the camera angle instead.

Give your employees a chance to be heard.

Often disagreements can be boiled down to simple misunderstandings from one or both sides. Invite employees to voice their opinions, to avoid any potential fallout. One example would be when using footage for a disciplinary purpose, if an employee is unable to challenge the footage they could potentially seek an enforcement notice from the ICO preventing the use of the data. This could scupper any disciplinary investigation and sour any further relationship with the employee.

Deal with the SARs in a prompt manner.

Employees have the right to request a copy of any CCTV footage that relates to them. Employers have 40 days to respond to an SAR.

Covert monitoring

Recording an individual without their knowledge is only justifiable in exceptional circumstances where you suspect criminal activity or serious malpractice. Below are a few steps to follow when it comes to covert monitoring:

Authorised by senior managers
Only to be carried out for a set timeframe, or as part of a specific investigation
Consider the risk of intrusion on innocent employees and potential risks
Areas where privacy is expected remain private
Limit the number of people involved

If you are considering the use of convert monitoring, we suggest gaining expert counsel before proceeding. For any information about the use of CCTV and whether it is worth investing for your business, contact us today.

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