Privacy

Retrieved from Yrkestrafikk edition 1 in 2023

Do you know how much information your employer has about you?

Technology allows companies to collect a huge amount of information about their employees. How hard you brake the bus, how much diesel the truck has used, how many boxes you have scanned. How long your bathroom break is, and who you had coffee with after lunch.

The information can make work more efficient. But it can also mean that the employer has information that they shouldn't have. It is therefore important that the collection, storage and use of the information is done correctly.  

Right to discuss

Control measures and storage/use of personal data should be discussed with employee representatives. This is important. Both because the storage/use of personal data is not in violation of the regulations and also because it is important that employees know what information is stored about them and what the information will be used for.

It is therefore important that shop stewards follow up on this right. As a shop steward, you should therefore request discussions about control measures/storage of personal data. This can be done easily by sending an email to the company requesting discussions pursuant to Section 9-2 of the Working Environment Act or Section 9-11 of the Basic Agreement.

What should be discussed?

It is important that employees know what information is collected and what the information is used for. This is essential to ensuring employee safety. Therefore, the employer must provide information about what information is collected and what the information will be used for.

In companies where there is a collective agreement, the Basic Agreement requires that this be discussed between the company and the shop stewards. In this way, shop stewards can help design routines so that this is done in a safe manner.

The main agreement § 9-11 no. 1

The parties shall discuss locally what personal data the company may register, and how it shall be stored and used.

Remember to write minutes of the discussions. This will document what information the company stores, how long the information will be stored, and what the information will be used for.

What is the purpose?

If the company stores personal data about its employees, the company must define the purpose for which it stores the data. This is crucial for what information the company can store, how long and how the information can be stored, and later what the company can use the information for.

For example, if the company stores sick notes. If the purpose is to pay sick pay during the employer's period, this may limit how much information is stored, and how long the company can store the information. To pay out sick pay, you only need information that the employee has been sick. It is not necessary to store information about what illness the employee has.

Furthermore, the purpose will be achieved when the sick pay has been paid. There is then no need to store the information for a longer period of time. The employer must then delete the sick leave. The regulations are also clear that the information cannot be used for other purposes.

For example, sick leave records cannot be used to terminate an employee or to justify the rejection of a job application. The employer can only use the information for the purposes stated. The purpose must therefore be defined in the protocol.  

The way forward

If you reach an agreement, write the agreement in the minutes. The employees can then become familiar with what information is stored, how this is done, and what the information will be used for. If the shop steward disagrees with the company about what is necessary, you can write a disagreement report. The report can be sent to the union, which can help you further.