The Court of Appeal has delivered a landmark judgment today dismissing an Appeal brought by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) which concerned the interpretation of the concept of ‘data processing’ and whether CCTV footage pertaining to an Employee was further processed by his Employers in breach of the Data Protection Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”).

As set out in a previous blog post, this Appeal was brought by the DPC against a decision of Ms Justice Hyland in the High Court. The High Court Judgement found in favour of our client Mr Doolin and held that his employers, Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services (“OLHCS”) had breached his data protection rights pursuant to Section 2(1)(c) of the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 when they collected and processed CCTV Recordings in contravention of the Hospice’s Data Protection Policy.

This is the second time the Superior Courts in Ireland have held that our client’s data protection rights were infringed by his employers and it represents a significant victory not only for our client, but also for other Data Subjects particularly in connection with the monitoring of employees in the workplace.

The Decision highlights the need for Employers to exercise caution when monitoring employees in the workplace. Employers should review their Data Protection Policy to ensure that they are processing employee personal data in accordance with their obligations under the GDPR and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018.

If you would like to read the Court of Appeal Judgement, please click on the below link.

CLICK HERE