Employer is requiring biometric data for clocking on, can I refuse?
- Thread starter Dano
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Soldato
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You do realise that your employer has your bank account details, your CV, home address, your telephone number, etc stored somewhere already don't you? Why get in a strop about a fingerprint?
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Actually the company holding the data will have to. Your company will be under an obligation not only to keep the data safe and secure as if it was stored in this country, but good/usual practice is to put in the contracts of any company holding personal data that they will fully comply with all laws governing such activity within the originating country.
I don't trust any company I've ever worked for and there are none I would trust.
How about when they start requiring urine samples? DNA?
Who's getting in a strop? Not me, I'm asking is all.
No, they couldn't. Biometric systems don't store the actual fingerprint scan but several parameters derived from it; think of it like an md5 hash of the fingerprint - it's completely one way. The data being sent to india is a non-issue.
The thing you need to worry about is someone lifting your fingerprint from, say, a glass you've been using and then using that to clock out early for instance.
Why do you have such trust issues? Did a company do something bad to you in the past?
Associate
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If it's anything like the iris scanners the company I work for introduced, it will spend 99% of it's time not working 
Soldato
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Why would they want that? Are you going to have to wee on the doors in future to get them to open?
He probably will....
No privacy laws so your biometric data could be sold to the Taliban, is this BT?
So they know when you go to the bog.
If its only a fingerprint, then I agree with Le_Petit_Lapin.
I think I would prefer my fingerprint to be stored in India than in the UK. It isn't like UK companies have a great record of securing data properly, and Indian technology companies are pretty good these days.
Even if someone did get hold of your fingerprint, what are they going to do with it? The only thing I can imagine someone doing with it is using it to "frame" you in some way, but then if someone wanted your fingerprint that much they could just follow you for a while and take it off a glass or door handle that you have touched. . .
I don't know about the legal aspects, but there are many companies that do it (and quite reasonably so whenever security is important), so I would guess its within their rights.
Finally, you should check what the exact format of the data is. It may well be that they store enough information such that your fingerprint can be verified, but not enough such that the fingerprint can be reconstructed.
I think I would prefer my fingerprint to be stored in India than in the UK. It isn't like UK companies have a great record of securing data properly, and Indian technology companies are pretty good these days.
Even if someone did get hold of your fingerprint, what are they going to do with it? The only thing I can imagine someone doing with it is using it to "frame" you in some way, but then if someone wanted your fingerprint that much they could just follow you for a while and take it off a glass or door handle that you have touched. . .
I don't know about the legal aspects, but there are many companies that do it (and quite reasonably so whenever security is important), so I would guess its within their rights.
Finally, you should check what the exact format of the data is. It may well be that they store enough information such that your fingerprint can be verified, but not enough such that the fingerprint can be reconstructed.
'biometric data' tbh.. its just a buzzword
who cares if your finger print data is in a foreign country?
I'd be more worried about other stuff than finger prints.
Do you not have a facebook account or online e-mail account? Ever posted your CV to a jobsite? I'm sure you've got more data out there hosted in foreign countries probably with less security & controls over its use.
Frankly if you are going to winge & moan about something like this then you'll just be showing yourself up as a bit of a jobsworth to management. Personally I couldn't care less if someone stuck my fingerprint data up on a public webpage - it makes absolutely no difference to me.
who cares if your finger print data is in a foreign country?
I'd be more worried about other stuff than finger prints.
Do you not have a facebook account or online e-mail account? Ever posted your CV to a jobsite? I'm sure you've got more data out there hosted in foreign countries probably with less security & controls over its use.
Frankly if you are going to winge & moan about something like this then you'll just be showing yourself up as a bit of a jobsworth to management. Personally I couldn't care less if someone stuck my fingerprint data up on a public webpage - it makes absolutely no difference to me.
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Hand it over to them and not have any legal framework to support your data.
Please stop posting this factually inaccurate nonsense.
