Big Boss is Watching You! The Right to Privacy of Employees in the Context of Workplace Surveillance

Abstract: Workplace surveillance is a necessity which was prompt by the development of information communication technologies that offered huge opportunities to employers to monitor their employees at work and even out of work which cause strict concerns for the privacy of employees. The present thesis examines such concerns of employees arising out of workplace surveillance. The legal protection of privacy within certain systems, particularly, within the European Convention on Human Rights is considered. After examining the substantive matters of the right to respect for private life under the Convention, four cases of the European Court of Human Rights concerning employee privacy at work are studied thoroughly, and an analysis of each case is provided. By such an examination, the scope of protection of the right to privacy of employees in the context of workplace surveillance is expounded. Furthermore, certain specific problems regarding the protection of privacy are highlighted and where relevant, possible solutions are presented.surveillance.