The current series of Channel 4’s Big Brother is now drawing to a close and the usual off beat mix of contestants has had the country once again glued to their every move. The nation thrives on the voyeuristic pleasure of watching the contestants’ conflicts, their emotional distress and behaviour - and the more bizarre, the better.

Watching and being watched has become a part of everyday life in the UK and with people being filmed an estimated 300 times on CCTV in an average day, it comes as no surprise that Britain is acknowledged as the most watched nation in the world. The phenomenon of our surveillance society has even been used to promote the sale of cars in a recent television advertisement, which advises us that we should at least give all of those cameras watching us something good to look at! However, whilst we may all be used to the prospect of being watched, this does not give employers free rein to monitor, intercept and record an employee’s every move without good cause.

Are Employers the real Big Brother?

Employers will often use a variety of surveillance techniques in order to keep an eye on staff, which can include the use of CCTV and the interception of e-mail, telephone and internet use. There can of course be legitimate reasons for watching your workforce, however, it is important to ensure that any surveillance is, in fact, justified and carried out strictly in accordance with the legislation which is there to protect employees.

The Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 all have a part to play when monitoring employees in the workplace.

Whilst a detailed analysis of that legislation is outside of the scope of this article, we will summarise some of the key points and concepts which are common to all.