Dino spying on employees? Monitoring not only for safety

The monitoring system in Dino Polska stores and warehouses ceases to have a protective function and begins to be a tool of control and pressure, say trade unionists operating in this network. In their opinion, the system has become a tool for forcing efficiency.

People employed in Dino Polska stores complain that the cameras there do not protect them, but watch their every move. According to them, the company's headquarters takes photos and calls the manager with a comment that the cashier is talking to the customer for too long or did not scan the goods quickly enough.

In Dino stores, instead of six people – three. The cameras are there to take care of the rest

– Matterthere are cameras used to exert pressureandto workć even faster – informs Bankier.pl Wojciech Jendrusiak, chairman of OPZZ Konfederacja Pracy. –. As employees tell us, monitoring is not for security purposes, but for constant control and pressure.

According to trade unionists, all this takes place in a situation where: the number of employees in supermarkets is dramatically low.

– Instead of six people in one store, there are three. There are shifts of two people. When one person gets sick, the entire schedule falls apart, says Wojciech Jendrusiak. – The situation is similar in warehouses. The system imposes further responsibilities and accelerates the pace of work, which simply cannot be carried out safely with such a limited staff. With minimal staff and increasing responsibilities, cameras will not solve staffing problems.

Cameras check employees and goods disappear from the shelves

According to people employed in Dino stores, monitoring is used, for example, to check how long an employee was on a break.

– The words are said: “we have recordings”. No one takes into account that the employee is performing other duties at that time. Cameras are aimed at employees while goods fly off the shelves. In addition employees were criticized forand bŁęfrom over six years agoshhh monthsęcy – says the chairman of the OPZZ Confederation of Labor. – Meanwhile, the law on this issue is clear. The rules for the use of monitoring are regulated by Art. 22 of the Labor Code.

Is monitoring not used in accordance with the law at Dino Polska?

Pursuant to the regulations, the employer may introduce video monitoring only when it is necessary for:

• ensuring employee safety,
• property protection,
• production control,
• keeping confidential information the disclosure of which could expose the employer to harm.

– Monitoring is not possibleWithesłatWithyć stałto supervise the employee's work or put pressure on the unionęcutting efficientlylateyou – says the trade unionist. – The law does not allow the use of cameras as a tool of discipline or psychological pressure.

Apart from that, in accordance with the Labor Code, the employer should store the obtained recordingsć for a maximum of three monthstant. After this period, they must be permanently deleted. Pointing out an employee's mistakes from six months ago raises serious legal doubts, adds the trade unionist.

What requirements must monitoring in the company meet?

Monitoring used in the workplace should meet specific requirements:

• must be introduced in the work regulations or announcement,
• employees must be informed at least 2 weeks before its launch,
• the area must be marked as monitored,
• monitoring cannot cover social rooms (locker rooms, canteens, toilets), unless very stringent conditions are met,
• must comply with the principle of proportionality resulting from the GDPR (Article 5 of the GDPR – data minimization and purpose limitation).

Low wages, no social benefits

Since December, trade unionists operating at Dino Polska have been raising alarms, among others: about:

• too low salaries for employees,

• lack of the Company Social Benefits Fund,

• low staffing in supermarkets and warehouses,

• pressures on work efficiency,

• too low temperature in stores,

• low quality of recovery meals in distribution centers,

• prohibitions on taking holidays during the summer months.

Therefore, in December 2025, it will be online a collective dispute began. Currently mediation is planned with the participation of a mediator appointed by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy. The trade union hopes that the mediation process will restore real social dialogue and encourage the company to comply with applicable labor law provisions.

We asked Dino Polska to comment on the monitoring used. However, we have not received an answer so far.

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