Prospect members help shape the debate on workplace monitoring
From tracking keystrokes and screen activity to monitoring productivity and performance, workplace monitoring technologies are becoming increasingly common. As governments, employers and regulators grapple with how these tools should be used, Prospect members are helping ensure workers’ voices are part of the conversation.
Our lobbying and campaigning on this issue over recent years contributed to the Government launching a consultation on proposals to support “the fair, transparent and responsible use of workplace monitoring technologies”.
To inform Prospect’s response, members shared their experiences of being monitored at work and the concerns they have about privacy, transparency and how data collected about workers is used.
Prospect members across technology, telecommunications, aviation, public services and more have reported monitoring systems being introduced without adequate information, consultation or safeguards. Members have described stress, loss of trust, concerns about privacy and fears that inaccurate data could be used against them.
Their contributions provided valuable real-world evidence about what workplace monitoring looks like in practice and the impact it can have on workers. That evidence helped Prospect make a stronger case for safeguards that protect workers while ensuring new technologies are used fairly and responsibly.
As workplace technology continues to evolve, so too do questions about privacy, trust and fairness at work. Yet workers’ voices are often missing from debates about technology in the workplace.
Prospect believes workers must have a say in how monitoring technologies are introduced and governed, and that a legal duty to consult and negotiate with workers and their representatives is essential.