Snoopers at work

Catharine Seddon, Channel 4 Television, PO Box 4000, Manchester M60 3LL, 28 pages, A6 size, £1 inc. p&p

Hidden cameras, bugs, computer keystroke monitoring and "mystery shoppers" are all part of today's techniques for surveillance of employees by their bosses. This booklet examines whether this is all the inevitable result of an increase in work-related crime or a paranoid response by employers leading to severe breaches of people's liberties.

Written to accompany a Channel 4 documentary of the same name it presents the issue from both sides, which in a way seems overly generous to those employers who are effectively spying on workers. However, it is a useful pocket guide explaining how and why employers do it and what the effects are on the employees being watched. It also suggests what people can do if they think they are under surveillance and outlines forthcoming legislation on the subject.