Stay ahead of the curve with our exclusive Q&A series, brought to you by leading law firm, Arthur Cox LLP, designed to answer your most pressing legal questions. These expert insights provide clear guidance to ensure your HR practices remain compliant and protect your organisation.  

This month's question:

Can CCTV be used in an employment investigation into an employee’s misconduct? If so, what should the employer be aware of in order to rely on such evidence? 

Employers should be aware of their data protection obligations under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. A key obligation is that employers must be transparent about the personal data that they hold and how it is used. As employers will know, the UK GDPR requires them to provide specified information when data is collected from them, particularly, why the data is processed and the legal basis is for processing.

In relation to CCTV, there are a few key points to note for employers. Firstly, data collected by CCTV is generally regarded as personal data and as such will be subject to the transparency obligations mentioned above. Covert monitoring should only be used if there is a reason to suspect criminal activity or similar malpractice. 

If an employer chooses to rely on CCTV evidence, it should be aware of its duties under the data protection legislation. If the data is categorised as personal data, employers should be prepared to demonstrate that the personal data has been processed in lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.

Practically, it is highly recommended that employers set out clearly their data protection policies, which outline how the data is held and what it may be used for. It is advisable to keep these policies in an easily accessible location, for example, on the company intranet.