ICO publishes new guidance on monitoring employees, urges organisations to consider legal obligations

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance on how organisations can lawfully monitor their employees under data protection laws.

Commenting on the new guidance, Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner regulatory policy at the ICO, warned all organisations to consider both their legal obligations and their workers' rights before any monitoring is carried out.

The guidance sets out how organisations can comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) when monitoring their workers.

Monitoring can include tracking calls, messages and keystrokes, taking screenshots, webcam footage or audio recordings, or using specialist monitoring software to track activity.

Employers must be aware of the nature, extent and reasoning for monitoring, and organisations must have a lawful basis for processing worker's data, such as consent or legal obligation, the guidance notes.

According to the ICO, the rise of remote working and technological developments has led to many employers looking to carry out checks on workers.

The watchdog published the findings of a survey in conjunction with the guidance.

The survey, which took responses from more than 1,0000 employees, noted that 19% of respondents believed a current or former employer had monitored them.

Among those who thought they had been monitored, monitoring timekeeping was believed to be the most common practice, followed by monitoring emails, files, calls or messages.

The survey found that 70% of the public would find it "intrusive" to be monitored by an employer in any way, and 57% of the public would feel uncomfortable taking a new job if they knew that their employer would be monitoring them.

Emily Keaney said: "As the data protection regulator, we want to remind organisations that business interests must never be prioritised over the privacy of their workers. Transparency and fairness are key to building trust and it is crucial that organisations get this right from the start to create a positive environment where workers feel comfortable and respected.

"We are urging all organisations to consider both their legal obligations and their workers' rights before any monitoring is implemented. While data protection law does not prevent monitoring, our guidance is clear that it must be necessary, proportionate and respect the rights of workers. We will take action if we believe people's privacy is being threatened."

Adam Carey