HR DEPARTMENTS in key industries across NSW are struggling to comply with the recent Workplace Surveillance Act 2005, according to a local IT security expert
HR DEPARTMENTS in key industries across NSW are struggling to comply with the recent Workplace Surveillance Act 2005, according to a local IT security expert.
“Within key industries there is low awareness of the legislation and those who are aware do now know the details of the Act,” said David Banes, head of internet messaging firm Cleartext.
“Many organisations use existing technologies like e-training and intranets which don’t allow them to test the understanding of policy or the penetration of individual polices.
Banes said a typical stumbling block was lack of communication between HR and IT departments as to whether complying with the Act was a technical issue involving policy deployment, or an HR issue in which HR manage policy.
Banes said usual stumbling blocks for HR included lack of budget, prioritisation of tasks and lack of management buy in.
“Many companies we speak to still see compliance measurement and effective deployment as a ‘nice to have’,”he said.
New South Wales is the first state to introduce laws which ban employers from covertly monitoring employees using technologies such as video cameras, email and tracking devices, unless employers can prove they have reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing by an employee.
The Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) also imposes restrictions on the storage of covert surveillance records and bans employers from using global positioning systems to monitor or record the location or movement of an employee.
Individuals who break the law face fines of up to $5,500, while company directors could face a similar fine.
Peter Coroneos, chief executive of the Internet Industry Association, said that while many larger organisations with regulatory departments were taking steps to comply with the Act, he was concerned about “SMEs who usually don’t have a clue and only find out when they inadvertently breach the Act”.
As HR sits between employees and management, Coroneos said HR is uniquely placed to assist in the development and implementation of policies to comply with the legislation.
Banes said organisations need to make clear delineation between online business skills training and information services (intranet documentation) and policy management solutions.
“IT and HR budgets need to allow for policy and compliance as separate items to training and intranet services,” he said.
