Serco banned from using facial recognition technology to monitor employees

TLDR:

– The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered Serco to stop using facial recognition technology and fingerprint scanning to monitor staff attendance at leisure centers.

– The ICO found that the biometric data of more than 2,000 employees had been unlawfully processed at 38 Serco-managed facilities.

In a recent investigation, Britain’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), discovered that Serco Leisure had been using facial recognition technology and fingerprint scanning to monitor staff attendance at leisure centers. The ICO found that the biometric data of over 2,000 employees had been unlawfully processed at 38 centers managed by Serco. As a result, the ICO issued enforcement notices instructing Serco Leisure to stop processing biometric data for attendance monitoring and to destroy any unnecessary data within three months. This marks the first time the ICO has taken action against an employer for processing staff biometric data. The watchdog found that Serco failed to demonstrate the necessity or proportionality of using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning over traditional ID cards or fobs for clocking in and out of work. The lack of proactive offers for staff to opt-out of biometric scanning methods created a power imbalance in the workplace, according to the ICO. The growing concerns over employers using surveillance technologies like facial recognition and AI to monitor staff have highlighted a need for stronger regulations to protect workers. The ICO has previously taken action against entities for breaches related to biometric data and facial recognition, illustrating the importance of complying with data protection laws. Serco Leisure has stated that they are taking the matter seriously and will fully comply with the enforcement notice issued by the ICO. However, this incident underscores the broader issue of the increasing use of biometric surveillance in workplaces and public spaces, prompting calls for more stringent regulations to safeguard individuals’ privacy rights.