The Issues
In an ideal world, you would only employ enthusiastic, highly skilled, product and perfectly compliant and loyal employees - and you would never have any employment law problems. In the real world, many employers will want at some stage to monitor the activities of their employees - maybe checking on employees internet activity, e-mails and telephone calls, whether to prevent liability or to check performance or productivity. Unfortunately, this can result in an employment law claim or other claim in the courts unless you take the correct approach.
There is a wide range of legislation that affects how you are allowed to monitor your employees at work, including:-
- European and UK-based Human Rights legislation;
- Data Protection Act 1998 ("DPA");
- Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ("RIPA");
- Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) Interception of Communications Regulations 2000.
In addition, employers must be careful not to take any action which could be said to breach the implied mutual relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee, as this could result in a claim for constructive dismissal.
The legislation and law surrounding surveillance of employees is complex and can be confusing. If you have a specific issue you should take specialized employment law advice. However, the basic principle is that whilst employees are generally entitled to privacy in the workplace this is balanced against the legitimate business interests of the employer. If you want to monitor your employee and comply with the law, you should start by considering the Employment Practices Code issued by the Information Commissioner.