Privacy International

Barclays has scrapped a system that tracked the time, the employees at their places of work and sent warnings to those spending long breaks.

The Bank , led the computer-monitoring system, last week, but had a employees the game.

Barclays said scrapping The System was a reaction to "feedback from colleagues", but would not say whether it is a permanent condition.

The software, Sapience, to create claims of "unprecedented transparency" within the company.

"It also, if a staff member goes offline for a period of time," the software company's website says. A Barclays source said, was the tool allows you to monitor the "effectiveness" of peoples' time at their desks.

But in addition to sparking turmoil within The Bank , it attracted criticism from privacy activists and HR professionals.

Silkie Carlo, Director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: "intrusive monitoring" deprived of employee privacy in the workplace.

"they never said of breathing employee's necks, personally monitoring screens or logging of toilet and water breaks come," She Said . "The availability of technology is set to [monitor] - staff no longer secretly makes it acceptable. "

it describes the software as "creepy" and called Barclays to "urgently review" its use.

Barclays said the software was part of a pilot that was rolled out part of the Investment Banking division.

But after The City by THE newspaper and published scathing comments from a member of staff, the language, The Paper , anonymously, Barclays said managers would no longer be able to track the activities of individual workers.

In a statement, The Bank said: "We have always thought, to listen to colleagues, feedback as part of this limited pilot, which was intended to topics such as individual over-work, as well as the General productivity increase. "

But Edward Houghton, head of research at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and development, put into question, whether or not to use it ever appropriate to what he described as a "Big Brother " approach for the operational monitoring.

"technologies such as this Can actually be said to do more harm than good," he said.

"you Can . create distrust, or low level of trust for the employees - the employees Can do the feeling that she was being watched and not trusted to their own work effectively. "

campaign group Privacy International , said: "data protection rules are very clear, strict and not allow the employer to carry out such monitoring unless you are able to prove that this is strictly necessary and proportionate and it does not have a serious impact on the rights of the employees. "

"the people are entitled, they are some of the basic rights, even if in the work," it said. "International banks are no exception. "

Source of news: bbc.com