Zoom is largely used as a video-call tool, but companies are stepping up their monitoring efforts since the pandemic
(Picture: Nick Morrison on Unsplash)Nosy employers will be on high alert after a Dutch court ruled that it could be a human-rights violation to require employees to always keep their cameras on while working remotely.
The ruling comes after a disgruntled Dutch worker took his US employer to court for being fired for allegedly refusing to keep his webcam on for nine hours per day.
The employee took contention with the company’s demand to keep his webcam on constantly during a day-long virtual-training program. When he was asked to also share his screen, he reportedly refused and was dismissed for “insubordination” and “refusal to work”.
The Dutch court agreed with the employee’s claim of unfair dismissal, saying that “tracking via camera for nine hours per day is disproportionate and not permitted in the Netherlands”.
Chetu, the Florida-based firm, is now on the hook not only for the employee’s wages and unused holidays, but also a €50,000 (£44,000) fine and the employee’s court bills.
In its verdict, the court ruled that “instruction to leave the camera on is contrary to the employee’s right to respect for his private life”, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the Dutch are famously progressive when it comes to employee wellbeing, it remains to be seen whether the ramifications of this ruling will spread across Europe and, indeed, to the UK, especially after Brexit.
The popularity of surveillance tech to monitor employees took off during the pandemic, as workers shifted to remote work and companies tried to adapt office-like management styles to virtual work.
A report released in February by the TUC union in the UK found that 60 per cent believe they have been subject to some form of surveillance and monitoring at their current or most recent job.
Surveillance can include monitoring of emails, files, webcams on work computers, as well as the worker’s activity (or lack thereof).
Government guidelines in the UK say that, if workers are unhappy with the way they are being monitored, they can check their staff handbook or contract to see if the employer is allowed to do this.
If they’re not, the worker might be able to resign and claim unfair (‘constructive’) dismissal.
But companies intent on snooping on their employees will face a competitive job market that is currently favouring job seekers, after the UK reported its lowest unemployment level, 3.5 per cent, since 1974.
