Employee Alert: Is your office mouse used to spy on you?

Employees beware! Innocent-looking, regular office equipment are now increasingly being used by employers to monitor staff in Britain.

Employers use tools such as calculators and clocks that come with built-in cameras and listening device, to keep a track of their employees.

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Now, even the regular PC mouse is no longer innocent. A variant, spy mouse, that looks the same as the normal mouse, comes with a listening device and a SIM card embedded in it. A phone call is used to activate the device, which then captures sounds and conversations within a 10-metre radius, The Sunday Times explained.

The daily has learnt that there is a healthy market for such spyware devices from clients who want constant suveillance in the office, say spy equipment sellers.

But is spying on employees legal? Lawyers told The Sunday Times that the use of such spy devices is technically legal but it may be in breach of encompassing laws.

If employers access confidential information through imporper means (without permission), the courts might have something to say about that.

With employers insisting on keeping a close eye and ears on their staff, there is a growing concern on how these professional establishment will use and dispose personal data that they will collect as a result of constant surveillance.

Lawmakers will soon have to take another look at privacy laws to ensure that employers do not invade employees' personal space in the name of 'monitoring'.