Monitoring workers – new guidance for UK employers

On 3 October 2023, the Information Commissioner's Office published new guidance on monitoring workers, addressed primarily to employers and with the aim of:

• ensuring compliance with the UK Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018;
• providing greater regulatory certainty;
• protecting the data protection rights of workers and employees; and
• helping employers to build trust with workers, customers and service users.

The guidance covers any form of monitoring of individuals who carry out work (whether as employees or in a looser worker relationship) wherever the monitoring occurs and whether within or outside working hours. 

The guidance is set out in detailed FAQs and checklists under specific headings:   

• data protection and monitoring workers;
• the use of monitoring tools that use solely automated processes;
• specific data protection considerations for different ways or methods of monitoring workers; and
• using biometric data for time and attendance control and monitoring.