WORK FROM HOME SPIES ALERT
■ ONE IN FIRMS LINKED ON STAFF ■ UNIONS CALL FOR LAWS TO BLOCK INTRUSIVE EMPLOYERS
A SURGE in secret software used to spy on staff working from home in the pandemic has led to calls for new laws against unscrupulous bosses.
Unions warn that firms are using coronavirus as a cover to snoop on workers and unfairly punish or fire those deemed to be slacking while they also care for children or sick relatives.
One in five companies has admitted either installing technology to snoop on staff or plan to.
The software can log how long workers take to read and reply to messages, check attendance at meetings – or even secretly film them from their screen.
Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said: ‘Worker surveillance tech has taken off during this pandemic as more people have been forced to work from home. We know many employers are investing
in tech to micro-manage workers and automate decisions about who to hire, and who to let go. Staff must be properly consulted on the use of surveillance at work and protected from unfair management by algorithm.
‘As we emerge from this crisis, technology must be used to make working lives better – not to rob people of their dignity.’
Labour shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah called current rules ‘woefully outdated’.
She said: ‘Workers should not be digitally monitored without their informed consent. Ministers must ensure people have a right to privacy in their workplace or home – which are increasingly the same.’
In a YouGov/Skillcast poll of 2,009 companies, 12 per cent said they had brought in remote monitoring, while eight per cent are thinking of doing so. And research by the TUC suggests one in seven workers have seen surveillance ramped up as they work from home. Official government advice to firms says staff can only be monitored without their knowledge if ‘you suspect they’re breaking the law’ or ‘letting them know about it would make it hard to detect the crime’. Alexandra Mizzi, employment law specialist at Howard Kennedy, said: ‘Employers risk claims for discrimination and unfair dismissal if they rely on surveillance data in disciplinary proceedings.’
The department for digital, culture, media and sport said last night: ‘The UK has world-leading data protection laws and strict rules around digital monitoring of employees.
‘The information commissioner has tough powers to investigate and fine companies which breach an employee’s right to privacy.’