An employer wishing to install video surveillance must, in addition to complying with points 1-4 above and points 6-7 below, ensure compliance with the specific rules of Article L. 261-1 of the Labour Code.
Article L. 261-1 of the Labour Code allows the processing of personal data for the purpose of monitoring employees in the context of employment relationships, by the employer, solely on the basis of one of the conditions of lawfulness exhaustively listed in Article 6.1(a) to (f) of the GDPR (see point 1.).
For such processing of personal data, including video surveillance at the workplace, Article L. 261-1 of the Labour Code provides for an obligation of prior collective information with regard to staff representation, in addition to the individual information of employees in Articles 12 and 13 of the GDPR. This information must contain:
- a detailed description of the purpose of the intended processing,
- a detailed description of how the monitoring system is to be implemented,
- where applicable, the duration or criteria for the retention of the data, and
- a formal undertaking by the employer that the data collected will not be used for a purpose other than that explicitly provided for in the prior information.
Article L. 261-1 of the Labour Code provides that, except where the processing of personal data for supervisory purposes meets a legal or regulatory obligation, the provisions laid down in Articles L. 211-8 and L.414-9 of the Labour Code apply, where the processing is carried out for the following purposes:
- for the safety and health needs of employees, or
- for the control of the production or benefits of the employee, where such a measure is the only means of determining the exact salary, or
- within the framework of a working organisation based on flexitime in accordance with the Labour Code.
In all cases of data processing projects for the purpose of monitoring employees in the context of employment relationships, the staff delegation, or failing that the employees concerned, may, within 15 days of the prior information referred to above, submit a request for a prior opinion on the compliance of the processing project to the CNPD, which must take a decision within one month of the referral. The request shall have suspensive effect during that period.
Finally, Article L. 261-1 of the Labour Code states that the employees concerned always have the right to lodge a complaint with the CNPD in the event of infringement of their rights, such a complaint constituting neither a serious ground nor a legitimate ground for dismissal.