The sick note says a bad back. Social media says a fortnight on a building site. Or a senior manager under a non-compete clause keeps turning up, by coincidence, at a competitor’s offices. Employers are entitled to protect their business, but accusing an employee without evidence risks a grievance, a tribunal claim and lasting damage to morale.
When surveillance is justified
Watching an employee is a serious step, and the law expects it to be necessary and proportionate. We help employers decide whether surveillance is appropriate at all, what less intrusive steps should come first, and how to document the reasons. Typical situations include suspected abuse of sickness absence, undeclared second jobs that conflict with the employee’s duties, breaches of restrictive covenants and garden leave, and theft or misconduct away from the workplace.
What good evidence looks like
A useful surveillance report does not just show a moment of activity. It records times, locations and context, and it notes what was not seen as well as what was, so that an employer, and later a tribunal or court, can judge the findings fairly. Our operatives keep detailed contemporaneous logs and capture footage only where it is lawful to do so.
Respecting privacy
Employees retain a right to privacy, particularly at home and in their personal lives. Our work is focused on the specific concern, limited in duration and handled in line with data protection law, which protects the employer as much as the employee.
Bringing it together
Surveillance is often one part of a wider enquiry. Our insider threat and corporate investigation teams, and our digital forensics experts, can establish what happened inside the business while surveillance shows what is happening outside it.
Contact us before taking action, so the evidence is gathered properly.
