ICO warning | Firms urged to consider law & workers' rights before monitoring employees

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling on organisations to consider both their legal obligations and their workers’ rights before they implement any monitoring in the workplace. 

With the rise of remote working and developments in the technology available, many employers are looking to carry out checks on workers. The ICO has today published guidance to help employers fully comply with data protection law if they wish to monitor their workers. 

New research commissioned by the ICO reveals that almost one in five (19%) people believe that they have been monitored by an employer. If monitoring becomes excessive, it can easily intrude into people’s private lives and undermine their privacy. 

Over two thirds (70%) of people surveyed by the ICO said they would find monitoring in the workplace intrusive and fewer than one in five (19%) people would feel comfortable taking a new job if they knew that their employer would be monitoring them.