surveillance software at work

I work for a mid-size consulting company and now I'm facing dismissal because my boss's caught me several times doing private correspondence, chatting and downloading software from the Internet during work time.

They use statlook surveillance software which tracks your activities while doing computer work. They monitor visited websites, total time spent working and pausing, keystroke/click count and so forth. The problem is, they didn't put my on a notice, they introduced the surveillance system. I didn't know being watched. I didn't even know they can grab the current screenshot and even follow it "live" just like on Big Bruv.

I don't want to get a sack! What shall I do now?

JC

This is probably futile, but how about appealing to reason? Tell them you're sorry, you now appreciate that you were wasting too much time, and you won't do it again. And then keep your word. It's going to be less hassle for them to keep you than to get rid of you and hire someone else.

Of course, it might be that they hate you, and this is just a pretext to get rid of you.

Alternatively, give them the finger, steal as much stationery as you can carry, and walk out. Then find a job in a company which has better things for its management to do than spy on its employees.

Oh, and get a shell account somewhere, and learn how to tunnel HTTP over an SSH connection. Doesn't help you if they're monitoring the computer itself, but it'll defeat network monitors.

tom

It is call the university of life, you have learnt a valuable lesson.

If the fact that they monitor your web usage etc was in your contract or employee handbook, you haven't got a leg to stand on. If it wasn't, you might have more of a case. Employee monitor without notice is a bit of a contentious area.

f**k off and try to find someone who will employ someone too lazy to do the job they are paid to do.

you took the p**s and got caught. maybe you should be in the public sector where you are paid to f**k around and achieve nothing

I would have thought some vague handwaving about appropriate use of computer resources was enough. Monitoring of some kind is pretty much is a given in any job pre or post Internet.

The Internet has been a godsend for organisations who want to get rid of staff. It is almost guaranteed that people will use it for non-work related purposes. It gives companies a way of firing staff however they should follow the procedure of verbal then written warnings unless the OP was accessing illegal content.

David

Let's face it, we've all done a bit of skiving from time to time, but this could depend on the amount of time you've been wasting / spending on your own activities.

By chatting, I assume you mean using chat or instant messaging software, probably for lengthy periods of time.

If these were isolated incidents, try and apologise. However, if this amounts to a couple of hours per day, then they may wish to make an example out of you. In which case you probably don't have much of a leg to stand on. It is their computer equipment, their network, and they can dictate what you can and can't do with it during working hours. The argument of privacy will carry little weight, because they can easily prove that you have not been fulfilling your contractual obligations.

If they are go> Allan Gould wrote:

No it's not, there's a right to privacy, and any monitoring should be by informed consent, although the law doesn't absolutely require it, I would expect an employment tribunal not to look favourably.

Also make sure that the companies data protection registration covers collecting and storing such information about you

Jim.

I can imagine people saying `serves you right`. I'm not sure what the law says, though.

Employers aren't allowed to read your private email as far as I know, and I can't see how they can avoid doing that, even if accidentally, using the software you describe.

The Data Protection Act might apply to storage of stuff you've been doing.

What about the Interception of Communications Act 1985? Suppose you did some online banking at work - they'd possibly have your passwords etc. What if some money subsequently went missing? Do the staff doing the spying have money problems? Possibly, if they're having to resort to getting rid of people in such a way, rather than seeing if you're fulfilling your obligations as an employee in terms of milestones met and results delivered. I'm sure some people waste more time having endless fagbreaks and talking crap around the water cooler etc.

John Comb wrote

Reflect on those poor devils who did a fair day's work for a day's pay and were made redundant through no fault of their own.

Then grovel, and do your private work at home.

Talk to your trade union.

(cross-posted to uk.legal where you will get more a sympathetic hearing as well as more useful advice)

For "contentious", read "illegal".

If employees can never do personal stuff in work time, is it illegal for employers to make any contact with them outside work time ?

Is doing personal stuff while at work incompatible with doing the job one is paid for in your world ? It's not in mine.

The contract can say pretty much what it likes. It can allow or disallow private business during offioce hours. It can demand or not demand that an employee do work-related activities outside the office.

At the end of the day it is going to be driven by supply and demand. An employer is not going to stand on the letter of a contract if he cannot afford to lose a good employee. Similarly, an employee would be stupid to refuse to do a few things outside of the contract if he really needs to keep the job.

I really like that reply! Succinct and to the point.

That depends upon the percentage of work time taken up by the personal stuff.

It was spam the first time.

It still is.

he is "advertising" the product.

Hear, hear. One is presumably assigned a certain workload and if that work gets done in (less than) the time allotted to it, what should anyone care about what else you do in the rest of the time?