A question about covert monitoring and 'other information' that might be
found while conducting covert monitoring.
Under section 3.4.5 of the Employment Code of Practice it says that we
should:
" . . . Disregard and, where feasible, delete other information
collected in the course of monitoring unless it reveals that no employer
could reasonably be expected to ignore".
In the Supplementary Guidance it states,
"Information about workers who are not the target of the investigation
should be deleted as soon as practicable. The type of activities that
an employer could not reasonably be expected to ignore might include
criminal activity, gross misconduct or practices that jeopardise the
safety of others".
My question is, what if information about workers who are not the target of
the investigation reveals that they are also involved in some equally
devious but separate criminal activity. Should we delete that information
and pretend we didn't see it or could we legitimately use the information
if it revealed something seriously underhand was occurring?
My view is that if the information does reveal something seriously
underhand, I feel we should be able to act upon it. A colleague of mine
has challenged my view and argues that section 3.4.5 should only relate to
'other information' about the individual who was the original focus of the
monitoring to avoid 'fishing' allegations. Information about other
individuals should be disregarded as they weren't the original focus of the
covert monitoring.
Looking at the wording of the Code of Practice, I guess this could be
argued either way. I'm interested in other people's views on this so I can
attempt to set some best practice guidelines for the business.
Many thanks in advance,
Emma
Emma Bothamley
Data Protection Consultant
01733 471226
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