Question

A bank in a small town is concerned with the perception of its employees by customers and others in the community. Branch managers are responsible for both the running of the branches and building community relationships. The bank decides that it needs to determine if certain personal habits are creating a negative perception towards customers. The bank decides to monitor its branch manager's off-duty activities in order to determine if this is creating concerns for the bank. Is the bank legally permitted to carry through this action? Does this constitute an invasion of privacy?

Answer 1

No, the bank is not legally permitted to carry this activity and this is considered as an invasion to privacy.

Even if the personal habits are of concern to the bank, this should be managed in the working hours of the job and not the off time. The bank can manage this situation by guiding the managers. New guidelines can be set for them. New code of conduct can be made compulsory to follow.

Monitoring someone’s activities after the job hours without their permission is violation of their privacy and is certainly illegal.