Camera Glasses at Work: Is Your Workplace Policy Keeping Up?
Written by Cherilyn Walthew
Technology is moving faster than many workplace policies.
Smart glasses and camera glasses can now record video, capture audio, take photos and, in some cases, use AI to analyse what the wearer is seeing. They can also look very similar to ordinary glasses.
For employers, that creates an obvious question: what happens when someone brings them into the workplace?
Recent reporting has raised concerns about camera glasses being used to record people without their knowledge, as well as questions about where footage may be stored, accessed or shared.
The issue is no longer hypothetical.
Your existing policies may not cover them
Many businesses already have policies covering mobile phones, social media, confidentiality and workplace surveillance.
But do those policies say anything about wearable technology?
Camera glasses create different risks because recording may be far less obvious than someone holding up a phone.
An employee could potentially record:
Conversations between colleagues
Customers or members of the public
Confidential meetings
Computer screens or business records
Commercially sensitive information
Personal information about other employees.
That means employers need to think about when wearable recording technology can be used, where it can be used and what it may capture.
Privacy obligations still apply
Under the Privacy Act 2020, businesses collecting personal information must comply with the information privacy principles.
Personal information should be collected lawfully and fairly, and organisations must take reasonable steps to protect it from unauthorised access, disclosure or misuse. People will also generally need to understand when their information is being collected and why.
If a business supplies camera glasses or uses footage captured by them, it should also consider where that footage is stored, who can access it and whether it may be uploaded or disclosed elsewhere.
What about customers recording your staff?
The issue is not limited to employees wearing smart glasses.
Consider a café worker making coffee while a customer records the entire interaction for TikTok, Instagram or another social platform.
What starts as “I’m just filming how my coffee was made” could quickly become uncomfortable if the staff member is identifiable, comments are being made about them, or the footage is later posted online without their knowledge.
Repeated filming, intrusive behaviour or targeting a particular worker could become distressing and may contribute to a wider health and safety concern.
WorkSafe guidance recognises that unreasonable behaviour towards workers can also come from clients, customers and visitors.
Businesses should think about when staff can ask a customer to stop recording, when a manager should step in, and when a person may need to be asked to leave.
What should your policy cover?
A practical policy could:
Restrict or prohibit camera-equipped wearable devices in certain areas.
Require approval before recording employees, customers, meetings or work activities.
Set clear privacy and confidentiality expectations.
Explain how staff should respond when customers are filming them.
Give employees a clear escalation path if they feel uncomfortable, harassed or unsafe.
Set out the consequences of breaching the policy.
Do not forget the employment relationship
Introducing a new policy is not simply about writing a rule and emailing it to everyone.
Employers should consider whether consultation is appropriate, particularly where a new policy affects employee behaviour, privacy or monitoring.
Rules should be reasonable, clearly communicated and consistently applied.
The bigger lesson: update policies as technology changes
Camera glasses are one example of a wider issue.
AI tools, wearable devices and recording technology are entering workplaces faster than traditional policies can keep up.
A good workplace policy should not simply list yesterday’s technology. It should establish clear principles around recording, privacy, confidentiality, data security and acceptable use of emerging technology.
Is it time to review your policies?
If your workplace policies only refer to phones, cameras and social media, there may already be gaps.
EASI NZ can help review and update your workplace policies so they reflect the technology your people and customers are actually using, while balancing practical business needs, employee wellbeing and New Zealand privacy obligations.
Get in touch with EASI NZ to make sure your policies are keeping pace with your workplace.
