Barclays employee 'spyware' trial halted after backlash

The introduction of software that monitored Barclays' employee activity and performance met with a backlash and resulted in the bank halting its trial. A whistleblower revealed to CityAm that the Sapience Analytics software monitored how long staff stayed at and how effective they are at their desks, told them to 'avoid breaks' and recorded toilet trips as 'unaccounted activity.' The whistleblower alleged that automated warnings had also been sent to employees judged to be away from their computers for too long, or if they had been spending too long on a particular task , and that t he 'spyware' monitoring had resulted in loss of dignity, additional stress and sparked a backlash over what was seen as excessive and unwarranted surveillance , and an invasion of privacy. Barclays had responded that it had been using the software 'to tackle issues such as individual over-working as well as raise general productivity.' ➕ March 2022 . A UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigation concluded (pdf) that the action warranted 'no further action' though Barclays should complete a data protection impact assessment shoudl it resume its spyware programme . System 🤖 Sapience Vue 🔗 Operator: Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank Developer: Sapience Analytics Country: UK Sector: Banking/financial services Purpose: Monitor employee activity; Improve employee productivity Technology: Behavioural monitoring system; Machine learning Issue: Human /civil rights; Privacy; Safety ; Surveillance Freedom of information requests 🔦 Information Commissioner's Office (2022). IC-188114-V8L7 (pdf)

Date it happened

2020-02-01

Organisation involved

Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank

Product, system or model

Sapience

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.