What can you use CCTV for at work?

CCTV can be used for a wide range of purposes, most obviously for security reasons, but there are strict rules governing its use. Human rights law and data protection regulations protect people’s right to privacy, so no CCTV camera should be installed without carefully considering these restrictions.

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Reasons for using CCTV at work

Employers and employees can both benefit from the presence of CCTV at work. It can be used to protect workers by ensuring health and safety procedures are followed and by deterring dangerous, violent, or criminal behaviour. For employers, it is a way to protect their property from theft or damage and can be used to monitor staff performance to potentially encourage improvements. In some industries, such as the financial sector, some CCTV monitoring is legally mandated.

Other industries use CCTV for specific workplace tasks; for example, a drain survey might require expensive and destructive digging to inspect drains but a CCTV drain survey Coventry using remote, manoeuvrable cameras provides a more efficient way for companies such as https://www.wilkinson-env.co.uk/drainage-services-cctv-surveys-midlands/cctv-drain-surveys/cctv-drain-surveys-coventry to identify any problems.

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Regulations and limitations on CCTV use

Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 guarantees all individuals the right to a private and family life. The Data Protection Act 2018 governs the use of personal data, such as your image on CCTV footage, to ensure privacy rights are protected.

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In the case of workplace CCTV, compliance is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Employers must register with the ICO and may need to pay a data protection fee before they can legally use CCTV in their workplace.

Employers cannot use CCTV without informing employees that they are on camera. Any footage collected must only be used for its originally designated purpose; for example, a camera meant to stop thefts cannot be used to monitor productivity. There must also be strict controls on who can access the footage, although anyone who features in a recording may request to see it.

There are many reasons for employers to install CCTV in their workplace, but they must uphold employees’ privacy rights.