Report warns of right to privacy threats at work

Dr Joe Atkinson said the workplace surveillance "can increase stress and anxiety"

Researchers have warned that workplace surveillance is threatening people's right to privacy.

A report by the University of Southampton and the Institute of Public Policy Research showed new technology allowed for intense and extensive surveillance of workers.

Lead author Dr Joe Atkinson said currently workers were not told how they were being monitored.

He added: "Employers have always wanted to oversee their workforce, but technology is fundamentally changing the nature of these practices."

The report, "Negotiating the Future of Work: Legislating to Protect Works from Surveillance", found since the shift to remote work caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, workers have reported an increase in the use of surveillance technologies.

It claimed that biometric sensors, facial recognition cameras, and the monitoring of communications and computer activity allow employers to collect and process data that would not have been accessible to human managers in the past.

Dr Atkinson, a lecturer in employment law at the University of Southampton, said: "This vast and detailed surveillance threatens workers' right to privacy and can also have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of association, expression and belief.

"It can increase stress and anxiety, lead to lower levels of autonomy and satisfaction at work and deepen existing power imbalances.

"For companies, excessive surveillance decreases staff wellbeing and satisfaction, leading to higher staff turnover, and potentially hampering productivity."

'Collaborative relationships'

He said in many cases workers were not being forced to be monitored, but highlighted that it was not always that simple.

"If you're an employee and you're asked by your manager or you're given an instruction, really that is tantamount to being forced," he said.

The government's plan to Make Work Pay committed to "ensuring proposals to introduce surveillance technologies would be subject to consultation and negotiation" with unions.

Dr Atkinson said the university's report detailed how the government's plans can be best achieved.

Among the suggestions was the introduction of new information rights so workers can challenge unjustifiable monitoring practices.

He said it is about raising awareness of the use of this tech with employees and developing "collaborative relationships".