Employee sacked over WFH monitoring calls for second chance

A former Sydney insurance worker claims her online profile is now the only way she can afford to pay the bills after she was unfairly sacked from her job when her work activity was monitored while she was working from home.

"I feel that I was hard done by," Suzie Cheikho told A Current Affair.

Cheikho said she worked for the same insurance company for 18 years before she was fired for failing to meet expectations after she began working from home through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"We were working around the clock," she said.

But what Cheikho didn't realise was that her employer was tracking her computer to build a case against her.

She said she'd been struggling with her mental health since losing two family members and then twins during pregnancy.

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In June last year, Insurance Australia Group, where Cheikho worked, warned her to lift her game after missing deadlines and not being contactable.

"I was given a formal warning about breaching (the) code of conduct, which I took accountability for and I apologised for doing so," she said.

By December she was placed on a performance plan, before being sacked in February this year.

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"If I was such a bludger, how would I manage a job for 18 years?" Cheikho asked.

IAG collected proof using keystroke technology over 49 days from October to December 2022.

"I knew that they could probably see when you were logged on, but to monitor keystrokes and mouse movements and stuff, I didn't know about it," Cheikho said.

The data showed she did not work her rostered hours for 44 days, started late on 47 days, finished early on 29 days and performed zero hours on four days.

It also recorded a low number of average keystrokes overall.

"We don't get paid by keystroke; I didn't have a data entry role. If anything I would be scrolling more than I would be typing," Cheikho said.

"I just don't believe the data was correct."

Cheikho claims she is in fact a "very quick typer".

She took her case to the Fair Work Commission, claiming IAG had a "premeditated plan to remove her from the business and that she was targeted due to her mental health issues".

But she failed to convince the commission's Deputy President, Thomas Roberts, that she was wrongfully dismissed.

He found IAG had a valid reason to let her go when she was "fired on February 20 for missing deadlines and meetings, being absent and uncontactable, and failing to complete a task which caused the industry regulator to fine IAG".

Former digital forensic police officer Michael Heikkilae said the technology used to monitor Cheikho is similar to what law enforcement agencies use to monitor criminals.

"I think it's quite invasive. It gives people with access to this sort of software a lot of power," Heikkilae said.

"Through software like this we can essentially see everything the user is seeing, everything from websites, to keystrokes, how much time they're active and even a live view of their screen.

He said the person monitoring doesn't need the employee's permission.

Owner of Australian cyber security company Gridware, Ahmed Khanji, said whether or not companies have to tell their employees they're being monitored comes down to their contracts.

"There are certainly a lot of ethical and privacy implications in doing so," Khanji said.

He said it's not something he would do himself.

"I think the cons outweigh any potential benefit," Khanji said.

"I think it would build a lot of mistrust in the workplace."

Cheikho said she's now on welfare and worried no one will give her a second chance.

She wants to warn other employees to track their work activity to avoid ending up in a similar situation.

"Whatever you're working on, track it. As much as it may seem tedious, you need to make notes," she said.

"Diarise what you're doing every day …that five, 10 minutes may save your job."