New Guidance from the ICO about monitoring workers lawfully

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued new guidance, mainly aimed at employers, which explains how to ensure that any workplace monitoring is lawful (complying with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018) and continues to protect workers data protection rights.

These days with more and more people working remotely and the ever-increasing levels of sophisticated technology in this area, employers are able to monitor their workers in many different ways; tracking attendance, calls, messages, keystrokes, hours of work and other activities.  Such information can be very helpful to employers but is only if used proportionately and in accordance with data protection legislation.

The guidance discusses the need to make workers aware of the nature, extent and reasons for monitoring, having a clearly defined purpose for monitoring and a lawful basis for processing workers’ data.  Information should also only be kept where it is relevant for its purpose. 

It is always worth remembering too that any information gathered should be made available in the event that a Subject Access Request is received.

To read the Guidance click HERE.

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