Clocking in and entry systems


The requirement to use swipe access cards or security fobs to enter workplaces, and also to move through different access points within the workplace, is common. Similarly, “clocking in” is a long established historical practice which has now been digitised, so that work start and finish times can be stored electronically for each worker. 


A Unite union official referred to some employers who monitor “the precise time that you come in and the precise time that you go, and when you go for lunch and all the other things in between.” 


Reps have reported that information gleaned from both clocking in and access cards have been used in investigations into employee attendance or persistent lateness, or to establish whether or not a worker was in a particular area of the workplace when an incident was alleged to have occurred. Information obtained this way has also been used in conjunction with other evidence, for example from CCTV images, or computer log-in data, to establish a more complete picture of an employee’s activities. 


There are obvious benefits to employers in using this technology to monitor employee presence in the workplace. As one rep explained, such systems are used in part “to ensure that managers know if a member hasn’t shown up so they can restaff for the shift or call the person if they have forgotten.” This is also in part to be able to better track and ensure staff are being paid for shifts they work, “as there are a lot of staff that swap shifts and this helps confirm staff get paid for correct shifts.” However, the information can also be used in disciplinary procedures if, for example, there was a belief that someone was continually late. 


Swipe cards or fobs may also be used for roles involving cash handling. A BECTU rep at an entertainment venue explained that this can be used “to see who sells more, or if there was a flurry of lost money, you could see if there was a pattern.” However, because at this particular venue multiple staff can use different tills while they are logged on, “the union has ensured that no one can be disciplined for any loss of money on any shared tills.”