A work from home employee who was sacked after keystroke tracking technology found she was ‘not typing enough’ has warned Aussie workers to record what they’re doing during office hours.
Suzie Cheikho, 38, was fired from her role as a communications disclosure consultant at Insurance Australia Group (IAG), where she had worked for 18 years.
Her sacking sparked debate over workers’ rights and the use of tracking software this week after the Fair Work Commission rejected her unfair dismissal claim.
Now the Sydneysider, who is getting by thanks to government handouts and fears she may never find another job again, issued a dire warning to workers.
‘Whatever you’re working on, track it. As much as it may seem tedious, you need to make notes,’ Ms Cheikho said during an interview with A Current Affair on Thursday.
‘Diarise what you’re doing every day. That five, ten minutes, may save your job.’
Suzie Cheikho (pictured), 38, has issued a dire warning to workers after she was unceremoniously fired by Insurance Australia Group (IAG) after her boss tracked her computer keystrokes
Former digital forensic police officer Michael Heikkilae revealed type of software bosses use to monitor their employees’ is the same technology police use to track criminals.
‘I think it’s quite invasive. It gives people with access to this sort of software a lot of power,’ he 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 added that employers don’t need a worker’s permission to access their computer.
Ahmed Khanji, who is the head of cyber security firm Gridware and has extensive knowledge of tracking software, is against the idea of using the technology to check on his employees.
‘Absolutely not. I think the cons outweigh any potential benefit,’ he said.
‘I think it would build a lot of mistrust in the workplace.’
Ms Cheikho told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday she fears she may never find another job after being unceremoniously fired by IAG for ‘not typing enough’.
‘It’s embarrassing that this story has gone viral – nobody is going to hire me,’ she said.
‘In 18 years of work there I only ever got one warning.’
Ms Cheikho, who is now living off Centrelink, told Daily Mail Australia she fears she may never find another job after being unceremoniously fired by IAG for ‘not typing enough’
According to Fair Work Commission findings, Ms Cheikho received a formal warning in November 2022 about her work output and was put on a performance improvement plan.
After missing numerous deadlines and meetings, Ms Cheikho was absent and uncontactable, and had failed to lodge a product disclosure statement that resulted in the regulator fining IAG, the findings said.
Her work then subjected her to a detailed review of her cyber activity, which looked at how many times Ms Cheikho pressed buttons on her keyboard on 49 working days from October to December.
On the days she did log on, she had ‘very low keystroke activity’. She recorded zero strokes over 117 hours in October, 143 hours in November, and 60 hours in December.
She averaged 54 strokes per hour over the duration of her surveillance, which showed ‘she was not presenting for work and performing work as required’.
But Ms Cheikho told the commission she was ‘confused and shocked’ at the data, and questioned its accuracy.
She added she at times used other devices than her laptop to log in when she had ‘system issues’.
‘Sometimes the workload is a bit slow, but I have never not worked,’ she told her managers, according to the FWC findings.
‘I mean, I may go to the shops from time to time, but that is not for the entire day. I need to take some time to consider this and I will put forward a response’.
The former IAG employee (pictured) had her unfair dismissal application dismissed by the Fair Work Commission after it was found she had been sacked for a ‘valid reason of misconduct’
Ms Cheikho’s LinkedIn profile photo has the tag ‘Opentowork’ following her sacking from IAG
According to the findings, Cheikho also attended a performance meeting with her manager via Teams with the word ‘F***’ written across her hand.
FWC Deputy President Thomas Roberts ruled the evidence showed Cheikho ‘was not working as she was required to do during her designated working hours’ while monitored.
The applicant was dismissed for a valid reason of misconduct, Roberts wrote.
‘I have little doubt that the factors underlying the applicant’s disconnection from work were serious and real,’ he said.
The situation was ‘regrettable’ given Ms Cheikho’s ‘long period of satisfactory service,’ Roberts added.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk