Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that (a) CCTV and (b) other measures taken in workplaces to keep workers safe are not used inappropriately to monitor employees; and if he will make a statement.

All organisations in the UK that process personal information must comply with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and is responsible for providing advice and guidance on compliance with the UK’s data protection laws.

The ICO has published specific guidance for employers on the rules in relation to monitoring of employees. Section 3 of its Employment Practices Code deals with the monitoring of electronic communication, video and audio recordings: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1064/the_employment_practices_code.pdf.

Employees who have concerns about the way employers are using their data can contact the ICO’s helpline on 0303 123 1113 or their livechat at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/live-chat/ for further advice.