In the United Kingdom, an entire department has to forego remote work. Some employees had used tricks to fake work. The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) intends to take strong action against the employees.
The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in the United Kingdom has suspended the remote work privileges for an entire department after it was found that several employees had used tricks to fake productivity.
According to the English-language magazine The Register, at least 26 individuals are being charged with misconduct after an investigation revealed that they likely engaged in “key jamming”: placing an object on a key to keep it pressed down.
Terry Woods, Chief Constable of the GMP, stated in a statement that such behavior is unacceptable. After all, the communities pay for the employees:
The unusual key behavior is due to repeated key presses and could be caused by an object that has remained on the keyboard, keeping a key pressed down.
Our communities deserve to have their money used wisely, and if intentional misconduct is proven, you can be sure that we will take decisive action in this matter.
The employees were caught after the agency installed keyloggers to ensure that work laptops and other devices are used only for work purposes. A measure that would not be easily permitted in Germany.
Keyloggers and similar software are generally prohibited in Germany
Would such a thing be allowed in Germany? No, companies in Germany are generally not allowed to use keyloggers and similar software to monitor employees – for example, in remote work. Such measures are only permitted under very strict legal conditions. This is explained by IG Metall on their website.
The use of keylogger programs to monitor employees is only permissible under German labor law and the Federal Data Protection Act (§ 32 Abs. 1 BDSG) when there is a specific, factually substantiated suspicion of a criminal offense or a serious breach of duty. General covert monitoring without cause is officially prohibited in Germany. This is also pointed out by the website Kenjo.io.
For companies caught secretly tracking their employees, a violation can become quite expensive. Penalties of up to four percent of the corporate revenue may apply.
Another company completely abolished remote work to save costs. However, employees are resisting the employer’s plans. With surprising consequences: A quarter of the workforce resigns and strikes shake the company: A company abolished remote work and now has an unusual problem: 25% of employees resign
