Is Your Workplace Monitoring More Than Your Staff Realise?

The question every employer should be able to answer

There is a reasonable chance your workplace is monitoring more than most of your staff realise.

Van trackers. CCTV. Recorded calls. Emails and Teams messages. Software that logs keystrokes or measures "productivity". In some cases, facial recognition or AI systems doing the watching entirely.

Some of that is completely justified. If a company van ends up halfway to Belgium with no explanation, "we didn't want to seem intrusive" isn't much of a response.

But there is a difference between managing work and monitoring people — and on 8 July 2026, the government decided that difference needs a proper look.

The government consultation

The government opened a consultation on workplace monitoring technologies on 8 July 2026 under the Make Work Pay programme. It is asking how the rules could provide more clarity, transparency and worker involvement. The consultation runs until 30 September 2026.

This isn't just an office issue. It covers drivers, engineers, site workers, carers, retail teams, remote staff — anyone whose working day leaves a digital trail.

What the ICO already says

The ICO is already fairly clear on the legal basics. Monitoring isn't automatically unlawful, but employers need:

A proper, documented purpose for the monitoring
The least intrusive method that achieves that purpose
To tell workers what is being collected and why

Monitoring emails and messages is treated as high enough risk that the ICO says employers must complete a data protection impact assessment before starting — not after.

A quick test worth running

Could you explain your monitoring to a member of staff in about a minute? Specifically:

What are we collecting?
Why do we need it?
Who sees it?
How long do we keep it?
Can it influence a decision about them?

If the honest answer is "I'm not entirely sure", the technology has probably moved faster than the policy around it.

The most revealing question

Would anyone on your team be surprised by what is being monitored?

If yes, that is probably where the work starts — not with a new system or a policy document, but with a straightforward conversation about what exists, why it exists, and what it is used for.

The consultation is open until 30 September. If workplace monitoring affects your business or your team, it is worth reading.