Monitoring Workers

The Data Protection Code Part 3 was introduced on 11 June 2003. It deals with an employer's right to monitor its workers. The Code does not impose new legal obligations. Its aim is to help employers comply with the Data Protection Act, which is already in existence.

The Code does not prevent monitoring of employees but recommends how organisations can meet their legal requirements through the operation of good practice.

Most information which is processed by an organisation in an employment context will be covered.

Failure of an organisation to comply with responsibilities imposed by the Data Protection Act can amount to a criminal offence.

Some practical advice:

• Identify the person responsible for ensuring that employment practices and procedures are complied with
• Ensure your organisation has a valid notification in the register of data controllers. Visit www.dpr.gov.uk to check the notification status of your organisation
• Carry out impact assessments to decide if and how monitoring should be carried out
• Consider whether workers should be informed of monitoring
• Covert monitoring should only be carried out in the rarest of circumstances
• Make serious breaches of data protection rules a disciplinary matter
• Put in place a mechanism for checking that procedures are followed in practice
• Train line managers who process information about workers
• Ensure that your rules and standards are clearly set out in a policy and communicated to workers
• Read the code and supplementary guidance at www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/dpdoc.nsf

Carol Shaw, Partner
31 July 2003