Your employer has no right to use CCTV footage against you

This may sound like an extract from George Orwell's 1984.

At a school "somewhere in Sussex" an NQT was observed with a difficult year 10 class...via CCTV. This is a violation of the Human Rights Act (article 8). To add insult to injury the head decided the best way to deal with this was not to support the NQT but to issue a public reprimand.

CCTV intended to reduce crime cannot be used to spy on employees. A head teacher may have delusions of being big brother but in this case turned out to be the weakest link.


In general, if employees feel that the use of CCTV is intrusive they can ask the NUT to assist. Employers would usually wish to avoid a situation where recourse to an Employment Tribunal is considered so the employees should express their concerns to the employer.

The placement and retention of footage must be in accordance with regulations under the Data Protection Act 1998. You can call the Data Protection helpline 01625 545 745 for more information.

More detailed information is available here