Barclays employee 'spyware' trial halted after backlash

Occurred: February 2020

The introduction of software that monitored Barclays' employee activity and performance met with a backlash and resulted in the bank halting its trial. 

A whistleblower revealed to CityAm that the Sapience Analytics software monitored how long staff stayed at and how effective they are at their desks, told them to 'avoid breaks' and recorded toilet trips as 'unaccounted activity.' 

The whistleblower alleged that automated warnings had also been sent to employees judged to be away from their computers for too long, or if they had been spending too long on a particular task, and that the 'spyware' monitoring had resulted in loss of dignity, additional stress and sparked a backlash over what was seen as excessive and unwarranted surveillance, and an invasion of privacy.

Barclays had responded that it had been using the software 'to tackle issues such as individual over-working as well as raise general productivity.' 

➕ March 2022. A UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigation concluded (pdf) that the action warranted 'no further action' though Barclays should complete a data protection impact assessment shoudl it resume its spyware programme.

Operator: Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank
Developer: Sapience Analytics
Country: UK
Sector: Banking/financial services
Purpose: Monitor employee activity; Improve employee productivity
Technology: Behavioural monitoring system; Machine learning
Issue: Human/civil rights; Privacy; Safety; Surveillance
Transparency: Governance

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Type: Incident
Published: March 2023
Last updated: June 2024