Prospect: Labour is right, government has to wake up to the reality of new tech and workers' rights

Digital surveillance at work is becoming increasingly prevalent. This has been highlighted by the Labour Party's call today, echoing Prospect's recent call, for the Information Commissioner's Office to update its Code of Employment Practices to reflect the changing world of work.

Last year research by leading trade union Prospectshowed that half of workers don't know what data their employer collects on them.

Prospect has alsorecently published a guide for workersto help them understand their rights when it comes to data and the use of technology in the workplace.

Andrew Pakes, Research Director at Prospect, said:

"Digital surveillance is just the tip of the iceberg for a new world of creepy tech that some employers are using to check up on their workforce.

"This technology is being introduced with no consultation with workers and often without even following the limited current rules around data privacy.

"We urgently need government to wake up to this issue, strengthen the rules governing this new technology and providing workers with clear and modern rights over how our data is used.”