Yahoo Finance Big bank’s creepy act finally scrapped
Barclays Bank has finally scrapped its internal tracking system, which monitored when staff were at their desks and sent warnings to those spending too long on their break.
Barclays had been implementing technology monitors on employees’ computers to see how active they had been, according to reports which surfaced days ago.
According to City AM, the system told staff to “avoid breaks” and recorded activities like toilet breaks as “unaccounted activity”.
The software company, Sapience, claimed to create “unprecedented visibility into how people work” within companies, but Barclays staff weren’t convinced.
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A whistleblower told the publication that the system was causing stress “beyond belief’, and it showed “an utter disregard for employee wellbeing”.
And it’s not just staff who were outraged.
Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, dubbed the act “creepy” and said this kind of monitoring was a huge infringement of staff’s privacy.
"Managers would never get away with breathing down employee's necks, personally monitoring their screens or logging toilet and water breaks," she told CNN.
"The availability of technology to [monitor] staff surreptitiously does not make it any more acceptable."
Since the allegations came to light, Barclays has gotten rid of its monitoring system.
Workplace monitoring in Australia
In Australia, the federal Privacy Act doesn’t specifically cover surveillance in the workplace, but state law does cover the installation and use of CCTV.
“It may be reasonable for an employer to monitor some activities to ensure staff are doing their work and using resources appropriately, the government’s website states.
“If your employer monitors staff use of email, internet and other computer resources, and they’ve told you about the monitoring, this would generally be allowed.”
In New South Wales, there is legislation to allow workplace surveillance, but other states don’t have these laws.
But while CCTV monitoring in the workplace may not be common, your boss does have access to your emails and internal messaging.
In fact, most businesses will have a code of conduct in your contract or an agreed policy in the workplace about your use of the computer, a Shine Lawyers employment law expert told the ABC.
"They could be monitoring the email system for personal use and to prevent staff stealing confidential information such as records and data to prevent intellectual property theft,” they said.
“All of this is above board."
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