Taking employee monitoring to a whole new level, LBC have reported that a boss in Spain was arrested after a tracker was planted on the car of an employee as part of a long-running row over sick leave. The employee unexpectedly discovered the GPS device, planted on the underside of his vehicle, as he was washing it.
“I got underneath the car and saw that the plastic had been broken and there was this device attached,” LBC reports that the anonymous employee told Spain’s Antena 3 news.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and it creates a lot of insecurity, especially given the reason I was on medical leave…This only makes it worse and heightens anxiety.”
It goes without saying that covert monitoring of employees in this way is never likely to be fair or reasonable. Quite apart from the likely criminal implications, if this incident had occurred in the UK, the employer would be facing potential claims from the employee for harassment on grounds of disability and, if the employee resigned in response to finding the device, a very strong claim for constructive dismissal. Fitting a covert tracking device is highly likely to be a slam-dunk breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence in almost every case.
Find out how we can help. Our partner, Jon Dunkley, heads the Wollens specialist Employment Department. Contact him today for an informal chat, without obligation on 01271 342268 or via email at [email protected].
