WFH | Is it legal to spy on remote employees?

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, employees have been forced to work remotely almost overnight.

Virtual communication and Zoom calls have become an integral part of everyday life to keep workforces connected and to allow businesses to continue ticking over. But, without being able to see and hear what staff are up to in the office, some employers have become suspicious that remote staff aren’t pulling their weight while working from home. This is supported by a recent Bloomberg article which pointed towards an increase in the number of employers ‘panic-buying’ spy software to keep tabs on staff throughout the working day, as well as an increase in the demand for companies providing these services.

As has been well-documented, employers have invested in a variety of monitoring tools such as keystroke monitoring, technology that intercepts Zoom conference calls and workplace communications on platforms such as Slack. An increase in demand for this type of technology has likely catalysed the creation of new remote spyware tools such as this from the tech start-up Enaible. This new machine learning software, for example, will gauge how quickly staff complete work tasks and will provide them with a ‘productivity score’ – which the MIT Technology Review cited as something that will indicate to managers who should stay and go.

But Enaible isn’t the only firm to have developed technology intended to monitor remote staff. The Telegraph recently reported that the accountancy firm PwC is developing a facial recognition tool to monitor staff through their webcams. According to the report, this would flag when workers are away from their desk for any period of time between a couple of seconds and minutes. Workers would then be asked to provide an explanation for their absence which has received heavy criticism.