Certis to Stop Tracking Live Location of Officers on Sick Leave

Decision comes after union intervention following tip-off from affected employee

- Sharon Salim

Security company Certis has agreed to stop asking officers to share their live location if they are not home while on medical leave, following intervention by the Union of Security Employees (USE).

"Certis, which is unionised under USE, has agreed to do so, and there will be no location tracking of officers on medical leave," Ms Shirley Loo, USE's executive secretary said in response to queries from The Straits Times.

The decision came days after Certis' medical leave policy drew criticism following an employee's tip-off to the media.

The Singapore-headquartered company, which also has operations in Australia and Qatar, recently mandated that employees on medical leave must remain in their declared residential addresses in Singapore. If found to be elsewhere during unannounced house visits, they would be asked to share their live location via WhatsApp, or attend video calls, said a current officer in his letter to the media.

Requesting anonymity, the officer said: "I personally experienced this policy when I was on sick leave and asked to share my live location... This created immense psychological stress and violated my right to privacy. I complied under fear of reprisal."

The officer added that he was at his parents' home when asked to share his location.