Castle trip | Should you know where your employees are during lockdown?

With the news cycle still dominated by the Dominic Cummings London-to-Durham furore – based on the movements of Boris Johnson’s chief aide during lockdown – it raises a key question for HR.

That is: does an employer need to know the movements of their staff? An issue that is particularly relevant considering that many employees are now remote and, as lockdown potentially loosens, may have the opportunity move from being near to the office.

According to Emma Swan, Head of Commercial Employment Law at Forbes Solicitors, it’s unlikely that staff will have to tell their employer where they are based.

She said: “Unless companies updated employment terms and conditions in response to lockdown and specific Government COVID-19 guidance it’s very unlikely employees will need to let their employers know if they are moving about during lockdown.”