The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has held that Spanish shop workers’ right to privacy under Article 8(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights was not violated when their employer obtained evidence of theft from covert CCTV footage of the employees.
The case involved five employees who worked as
In a startling revelation, it has recently become public knowledge that a Fair Work Commission Vice President had covertly recorded telephone conversations between himself and the President of the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission is Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal. The Vice President said that he did so to protect his own lawful interests. Whilst this article will not explain why the Vice President considered it necessary to protect his own lawful interests by secretly recording conversations in his workplace because the recent public coverage, might encourage copy-cat conduct by employees, it is timely to review the Australian legal framework in relation to the regulation and use of surveillance devices, such as listening devices in the workplace or elsewhere. The recent public coverage might encourage copy-cat conduct by employees.