Controversial workplace surveillance: food company fined €42,000 in Spain
An employee of a food company was recorded when she went to the bathroom. Based on monitoring, it was determined that the woman spent nearly 20 minutes in the restroom. The recording reached her coworkers, who were asked if their colleague should lose part of her salary due to such a long break.
Cameras installed in the factory recorded the woman leaving the production line and going to the bathroom. The length of the break was precisely determined to be 18 minutes. The recording was shared with other employees on the company chat set up on the WeChat platform.
Penalty for an excessively long bathroom visit
The story was described on LinkedIn by GDPR expert Adam Klimowski and concerns the company CUI ZQS FOOD operating in Spain.
A brief comment was attached to the shared video. Employees were asked whether they believed the behaviour of the recorded person was fair, and if not, whether the company should deduct part of the recorded person's salary.
The case was reported to the Spanish data protection authority, AEPD. Inspectors initiated proceedings. The company defended itself by stating that the recording was published by an employee responsible for work supervision and was "the result of an outburst of anger" due to the prolonged absence.
The company also argued that the poor quality of the recording does not allow for the identification of the recorded employee, and the publication was educational. The employer emphasised that the purpose of the monitoring is to control the number of people at the production line and to check the quality control of products.
The regulator imposed a fine
The AEPD was not convinced. The institution concluded that the employer violated data protection regulations and imposed a fine of €70,000, which was later reduced to €42,000.
