The use of wearable technology in the workplace is becoming increasingly popular and a number of surveys suggest that the use of such technology could provide certain benefits to employees, such as increasing productivity. Some employers consider that the introduction of new wearable technology will enable employees to work hands-free whilst still receiving information relating to the work that they carry out.
However, there are certain concerns associated with the use of this technology by employees during work hours in relation to privacy, data protection and intellectual property. The use of wearable technology may make the protection of intellectual property challenging, as employees could potentially access protected information and record it with a view to distributing that information. Potential issues could also arise if an employee uses wearable technology to record a disciplinary meeting without the employer’s consent and seeks to rely on the recording at a later date during litigation.
Many concerns arise through wearable technology, for example, who is the owner of the wearable technology? When can it be used and for what purpose? Employers could minimise the risks resulting from the use of wearable technology in the workplace by adopting clear policies to address its use.
If you need further advice on this new and evolving area and you are an ARC Silver or Gold member, please call the ARC helpline.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.