Why Pricewaterhouse started tracking their employees?
On September 10, 2024, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) announced that it would start tracking where its employees in the United Kingdom work, in an attempt to dial back on its current work from home culture. PWC stated that it will start sharing its employees’ individual working location data on a monthly basis to ensure that the policy is consistently applied across PWC’s offices in the United Kingdom.
Employee tracking in Ontario
You may be asking yourself; can an employer track your location? for employees in Ontario, the practice of tracking an employee’s location has been legal for several years. In particular, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 does not provide the right for employees not to be electronically monitored by their employer and does not create any new privacy rights for employees. While it is not illegal for an employer to track employees in the workplace, the law permits tracking so long as it is reasonably connected to the job being completed.
In October 2022, the Ontario government updated the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to permit the practice of monitoring an employee’s location for companies with at least 25 employees. Beginning in 2023, employers that employ 25 or more employees must have a written policy on electronic monitoring of employees in place. The policy must clearly outline how the employer will track its employee’s location, the circumstances in which the employer would electronically monitor its employees, and when the employer would track its employees’ location. The policy must be reasonable – for example, an employer cannot track an employee outside of working hours. As long as employees are informed about how they are monitored by a written policy that tracks employees while at work, it is legal for employers in Ontario to surveil and monitor employees at work.
Risks of being tracked by your employer
While employers may track employees during working hours, there is a risk that the data collected may be used against employees to their detriment. The most common examples would be to terminate an employee’s employment due to what they do during their personal time or during lunch breaks. These issues are becoming more prevalent as technology advances and as employers use tracking technology to determine an employee’s productivity and performance. As such, it is important for employees to clearly understand the parameters of tracking technology during work hours and to review the employer’s electronic monitoring policy to ensure that it complies with the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
How can Whitten & Lublin help?
If you have questions about your company’s electronic monitoring policy, contact us for further information online or by phone at (416) 640-2667 today.
Author – Abby Leung
