Photographs on Intra Company website

[katejess44]

The company that I work for is introducing an intra company website that includes a directory of all staff.

I've just been informed that we all have to have a portrait photograph taken that will be published to the website.
I spoke to my boss (with whom I get on very well) and said 'I take it that this isn't compulsory'. His reply was that it was.

I seem to remember from my previous job that they could not force us to allow them to publish our photographs.

I have to be honest and say that although I have a Facebook account in which I post photographs of myself, I can at least limit the people who have access to view them. I am not so happy to have my photograph available for anyone within my company to view.

Am I just being stroppy or is this in breach of some privacy law and is my company in the wrong for insisting that our photographs are published?

I'd be really grateful for any answers.

[factor-fiction]

Sounds a reasonable request- perhaps you should stick to your principles and leave.

[jen78]

I've worked in places where it has been stated as compulsory to have a photo on an internal company website and remember there being a lot of trouble when some staff refused to have their photos on there.

I guess it's a bit like passes and similar for security reasons.

Is there a particular reason for them wanting photos on the site like identification reasons? I've worked in some large law firms and it was always really useful to see a picture of someone you needed to find and let to far less confusion like young female solicitors and partners being mistaken for secretaries.

It's also useful for security and confidentiality reasons to know you're talking to the right person about the right thing or giving the right person a sensitive document etc... or for dorr security or restricted areas.

If so then it may be difficult to make a stance against and may not come across very well to your employers.

Trouble is, once one person makes a stand it encourages others to do so.

[bednobs]

dont really see wht the prob is - anyone could come into your office and see you in the flesh!

[katejess44]

Factor30 - Not particularly helpful, but If I could afford to leave, I would.

Jen78 - The line from my boss was that if we have to phone someone from another department, we would be able to put a face to a name! There are no security issues and I would quite understand if we had to have our photograph taken for security passes (as I have also worked in environments where that has been necessary).

bednobs - I would prefer someone to come and meet me 'in the flesh' than for them to form an opinion based on a photograph of me.

[pink-kittens]

Then, to quote you, I think you are being stroppy
I understand where you are coming from though if its the WWW we are talking about but as it's a company website, and buy that I assume you mean not WWW, then I see no problem with it