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:

What are the potential liabilities of an employer if, for example, a hotel guest records an employee while they are at work?

It is widely accepted that an employer has an important duty to protect their employees in the workplace from discrimination, harassment and their personal data. However, this area becomes much murkier when you consider if this duty on the employer extends to protect their employees from the actions of third parties, such as guests. For example, if a guest were to record and harass an employee while they were working, would an employer be under a legal duty to intervene? 

Currently, the legislation does not expressly require an employer to intervene. However, equally, there is nothing in the legislation that limits the duty to prevent harassment. Therefore, employers should have clear and robust policies that employees are aware of if dealing with a particularly difficult customer. Equally, employers, if appropriate, could impose rules on a hotel guest that if they breach, their stay could be terminated. 

The example also raises potential data protection issues for the employer. The protection of data has gathered significant importance and this is no different for employers, particularly when dealing with their employee’s personal data. It is generally accepted that video recordings of an individual will be personal data, especially if the individual can be recognised. 

At the moment, there is no clear guidance on the employer’s duty in these situations. Employers should review their data protection policies and ensure that there are well established communication channels so that employees can easily raise concerns about a customer’s conduct.

To conclude, dealing with difficult customers will always be tricky. Therefore, it will pay dividends to have diligently reviewed and drafted policies to deal with these situations. These will help to chart a clear course for a smooth resolution of the issue and afford protection to the employees.