It may seem strange that having been trained to work in an industry that prides itself on honesty and a fully transparent relationship with employees, problems of internal monitoring will one day arise, but employers have the right to monitor the working time of their employees as long as they have clearly indicated that this practice is taking place.
Where is surveillance allowed at work?
There are a number of activities where supervision is permitted:
- Postal communications
- Telephone calls
- Faxes
- Use of the Internet
In certain circumstances, employers will employ video surveillance officers specifically to record daily events in the workplace as permitted by law if:
- The monitoring is relevant to the employer’s business.
- Telecommunications systems are provided in the course of the employer’s activities
- The employer has made every effort to inform staff that communications are being intercepted or, in some cases, recorded.
The code of conduct or monitoring policy must be clearly indicated to SIA licence staff at the beginning of their contract and must form part of this agreement which could be the basis for disciplinary action or a grievance. If you, the employee, discover that your work is being monitored and you have not been informed that this practice is taking place, you may challenge this.
Your interview is not the best time to discuss supervision at work. For example, if you are being interviewed for a security guard or door monitor position and you question the employer’s workplace surveillance policy, this may be considered suspicious, keep in mind that surveillance of public spaces is probably in place to protect you from not observing how you carry out your duties.
What is the Data Protection Act?
All forms of surveillance are covered by the Data Protection Act. This is similar to when you make a request to a call centre when you are informed that the call may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes – this message is a legal obligation under the Data Protection Act, it is there to give you the option of whether or not to continue the call.
The same rule applies to your employment contract, secret (covert) surveillance activities are rarely considered a legal practice, check your contract carefully, remember that it is a mutual agreement and can be negotiated by both parties.
Common sense should prevail here. As a professional member of the security industry, any employer will assume that you adopt surveillance practices, particularly in the case of CCTV surveillance used in public places to combat violent crime, alcohol abuse and drug trafficking. In almost all cases, you will notice that law firms now post signs that say “For your personal protection, CCTV cameras are used in these premises”.
Abuse of Surveillance
If you think your employer is abusing staff surveillance activities, your first port of call is the Information Commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing the Data Protection Act. The Information Commissioner is an enquiry point and will not pay compensation, but the good advice he will give you is free of charge. A local Citizens Advice Bureau will give good advice on the subject which is also free of charge.
