Surveillance in the workplace, and the publication or sharing information or events, is increasingly accepted as a normal part of everyday life.
Workers are also becoming used to being monitored in the workplace, whether through CCTV or through various forms of efficiency monitoring. In health and aged care, this surveillance is often justified as maintaining or improving patient and employee safety and quality of care. However, it is also widely used as a method to monitor employee performance.
ANMF members increasingly contact us for representation on disciplinary matters involving surveillance and the professional and personal impacts can be significant. For example, cases where footage from a security guard’s body-worn camera is used in a disciplinary, or when CCTV footage is introduced as evidence in a disciplinary. In these circumstances, context is everything and when a workplace uses the footage as proof of misconduct, regardless of context, this may misrepresent the evidence.
Surveillance, or monitoring of an employee’s work, either through visual surveillance or computer programs, can also be used to pressure staff to increase their productivity. For example, clinicians who provide care in the home are often required to follow a schedule (often AI or computer generated) that does not account for the human work of nursing and midwifery. These programs do not reflect the unpredictability of these interactions, or the time required to build trust to ensure a patient-centred approach.
ANMF has reports from nurses who are unable to take breaks because the patient load and scheduled time per patient is insufficient to get through their workload. They do not have the capacity to do their day’s work and take a break. This ongoing monitoring presents a psychological risk because of the constant anxiety it creates in relation to job security.
Overt and covert surveillance
Beyond formal employer workplace surveillance is the growing incidence of covert surveillance – that is when nurses and midwives are being recorded without their knowledge, often by patients or families. In 2023 ANMF reported on a case where the family of a patient/resident was secretly recording staff. When it was revealed, the knowledge they were being secretly recorded caused staff significant anxiety. Notified through the HSR, ANMF were able to work with members to stop the practice, however it does raise concerns relating to when and how nurses and midwives can prevent this behaviour.
In a separate case, a graduate nurse was filmed by family as she provided medication to a patient. The family didn’t ask, they didn’t conceal what they were doing, and the graduate was not provided an explanation. The graduate lacked the confidence to request an explanation or ask the family to stop. Instead, the member sought advice and assistance from the ANUM. Neither the ANUM or the member were aware of their rights and responsibilities, or the hospital policy related to this situation. As a result, no action was taken. The graduate was distressed by not knowing what the family was intending to do with the footage they had on their phone, so she spoke with her Job Rep who pursued the matter through the ANMF, and the situation was resolved. The family apologised and deleted the content.
In many cases, members are protected by the law – for instance, recording someone without their consent (as in the above example) is illegal and can therefore be stopped. But again, context is important. What happens in a workplace with a negative culture or without an ANMF Job Rep? What if you are an employee on a work visa and don’t want to upset your employer? It is critical that members understand their rights and the workplace policies relating to these matters.
ANMF is also aware of members who have faced disciplinary action because they have recorded patients or their colleagues at work, for example to get telehealth advice by taking a picture or video of a wound.
In many cases these activities are approved through policy and informed patient consent and so they have positive outcomes. However, there are also cases where members are disciplined and may be reported to AHPRA for professional misconduct when they record or take a picture of a patient without their consent, and they share this with others. It only takes one colleague or friend to see this, to report it and the nurse or midwife could then be facing a workplace disciplinary as well as a notification to the regulator – either AHPRA or the aged care regulator, or both.
Understand your rights
ANMF strongly recommends that members understand both their rights and responsibilities and make sure that they are familiar with their workplace policy and the Nursing and Midwifery Board’s Practice Standards and Codes of Conduct. The NMBA also has some clear examples of issues related to confidentiality in relation to social media.
Remember: even if you believe your actions are harmless, consent is critical, as is an awareness of your surroundings and who else may be around. Before you do anything, check that your workplace has specific and sufficient policies to guide a process.
In short, members have a right to privacy when they are at work, but they also have very real obligations. To guide your actions in relation to this, remember the following:
- Audio and/or visual recording devices can legally be used, as long as all parties consent to doing so. Generally, it is unlawful to record someone without their knowledge or consent.
- Make sure your workplace has robust policies and processes in place and contact the ANMF through your Job Rep to report unresolved matters, or if you have concerns about the workplace policy.
- Where you are concerned about the workplace position or actions, make sure that you and your colleagues continuously report incidents and raise concerns in writing to management to create a critical ‘paper trail’ of evidence that the concerns have been raised repeatedly with inadequate or no outcome.
- Always work as if you are under surveillance or being monitored in some way.
- Do not record your colleagues or patients without consent and do not post anything from your workplace or pertaining to your workplace online.
- Engaging with your HSR for advice can be helpful and is crucial for escalating unresolved safety concerns and demanding action within the workplace to prevent harm. If your workplace does not currently have an HSR, contact ANMF to find out how to get this happening. If you are already an HSR, let us know.
- Consider nominating as an ANMF Job Rep to work with ANMF and be an advocate for change for your colleagues.
