Observing the behavior of employees, wiretapping their telephone and office conversations - this is increasingly common. One can argue for a long time about how acceptable this is from the point of view of morality. Another question is how legal it is.
What gives the employer total control?
Usually, wiretapping in offices is understood as monitoring telephone conversations and video surveillance through cameras. Sometimes hidden microphones are installed in the office, with which you can listen to ordinary conversations. However, such a measure is a clear overkill and is used only in such companies where the security service and (or) the CEO are obsessed with control. Installing hidden microphones is also unpopular and impractical because nothing prevents employees from going outside to talk.
Wiretapping equipment is easy enough to find and buy. Of course, it will cost a pretty penny, but after all, it is not installed in order to catch the hand of an employee who spent three rubles on a call to a great-aunt. Usually, control of telephone conversations is carried out in order to prevent the leakage of information to competitors or incorrect communication with customers. However, anyone who calls the office can challenge the fact that his conversation is being recorded in court. In large companies, the phrase "In order to improve the quality of service, telephone conversations are recorded" will protect against this. Thus, at the same time, the employee is warned about the wiretapping of the telephone line, and personal issues can be discussed on their own mobile.
As for video surveillance, practice shows that it does not interfere with work and life. Naturally, no one puts cameras in the toilet. At the workplace, the camera allows you to track how effectively an employee is working. With the help of video surveillance, you can catch a dishonest employee, and in emergency situations (visits to regulatory authorities, unscheduled inspections, audits, even a fire), it will help to respond quickly.
Total control: is it legal?
Many refer to Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which defines the right to privacy of telephone conversations, correspondence, and so on. However, in fact, in the presence of wiretapping of telephone lines, the employee is not deprived of this right. If you do not want to discuss something important on the office phone number, you can call from your cell phone. Listening to cell phones is much more difficult. So, the secrecy of communication is not violated, the employees are simply given a choice - to speak for free on a monitored office phone or for a fee - on their own, which is not tapped.
