Workplace surveillance: why a lawful policy is critical to protect your business

Workplace surveillance is increasingly common, typically used to monitor safety and security. But without a clearly defined and legally compliant policy, using surveillance can easily backfire. Employers who gather footage or recordings without following legal and privacy obligations risk facing personal grievances, breaching employee privacy rights, and risk losing the ability to rely on that evidence if a claim occurred.

Surveillance must be lawful and transparent

Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, employers and employees owe each other a duty of good faith, which includes being open and communicative about important matters – like workplace monitoring.

In addition, under the Privacy Act 2020, surveillance that collects personal information is subject to several Information Privacy Principles (IPPs). Key employer obligations include:

• IPP 1 – Purpose of collection: You must collect information only for a lawful purpose, and only if it’s necessary.
• IPP 3 – Collection from the individual: You must take reasonable steps to notify employees that surveillance is in place, what it’s for, and how the information will be used.
• IPP 4 – Manner of collection: Information must not be collected in an unreasonably intrusive way (e.g. hidden cameras or continuous audio).
• IPP 5 – Storage and security: Employers must protect footage from unauthorised access, disclosure, or misuse.
• IPP 10 & 11 – Use and disclosure: Information collected via surveillance must only be used for the original purpose – unless the individual consents or another legal exception applies.

Without clear notification and a valid reason for collection, surveillance may breach the Privacy Act—even if the footage shows wrongdoing.

Privacy principles in action

NZ Post Delivery Case

In 2018, a delivery worker complained to the Privacy Commissioner after learning their vehicle had both video and audio recording. While the Privacy Commissioner accepted that visual monitoring was potentially justifiable for safety reasons, the continuous audio recording was ruled excessive and breached multiple privacy principles. Namely, for lawful purposes, people must be aware of collection, and collection must not be unreasonably intrusive. The Privacy Commissioner held that employees were entitled to a reasonable level of privacy even during work hours. This case highlights that surveillance of employees must be proportionate and fair.

Employer’s Covert Surveillance

In Booth v Hirequip Ltd [2012], an employer had concerns that the employee was being dishonest with their work activities. The employer wasn’t satisfied following an initial chat with the employee. The employer then conducted covert surveillance on the employee by driving a family member’s car and following the employee around all day. This included waiting for the employee to leave their family house and drop his son off at school. A warning was issued despite the employee not knowing they were being monitored or receiving clarity around the alleged breaches of policies and procedures. The employee raised a personal grievance, arguing they had no knowledge of the monitoring. The ERA ruled the covert surveillance breached good faith and process expectations, ordering the employer to pay $7,500 in compensation and to remove the warning.

Best practice for employers: policy, consent, and proportionality

Why surveillance policies are needed

Failing to align surveillance practices with privacy law and employment rights can result in:

• Inadmissible evidence.
• Personal grievances.
• Fines or enforcement by the Privacy Commissioner.
• Loss of trust or reputational harm.

A documented surveillance policy helps ensure that your monitoring is lawful, transparent, and enforceable – and that any evidence you collect stands up under scrutiny.

Privacy and Process

Workplace surveillance can protect your people, assets, and productivity – but only if you get it right.

The Privacy Act 2020 and case law make it clear: surveillance must be reasonable, necessary, notified, and used fairly. Employers who follow best practices will not only protect themselves legally but also foster trust and transparency in their teams.

How can Citation HR help?

We know that employment law and compliance can be confusing, especially regarding privacy and process.

If any of the information in this article has raised any questions or concerns about privacy considerations, or if you have another workplace matter you need assistance with, you can contact our experts here.