Cameras placed above toilets at Peterborough Ikea warehouse ‘to address drug use’

An investigation was launched by the Swedish firm in September last year after workers at the centre at Kingston Park, off Fletton Parkway spotted the cameras.

The cameras were obscured by ceiling panels but after the lights went out in one of the toilet blocks, a member of staff reported seeing an infra-red light through a gap in the panels and upon further investigation found a CCTV camera.

A number of cameras, across the male and female toilet facilities, were then found by staff.

The investigations confirmed that in November 2015, cameras were installed in the ceiling voids above, and corridors outside, 10 bathroom facilities across the site following multiple attempts to address serious concerns about drug use and the use of false urine samples as a way of disguising it.

They were operational until July 24 2017. No recording took place after this date and the cameras were not recording at the time they were discovered by co-workers. They were all removed shortly after discovery. 

A review of the footage showed that as a result of ceiling tiles becoming dislodged, two cameras recorded footage of individuals in the bathroom areas below the voids for a limited period of time. One of these was a female bathroom, the other a male bathroom. This footage only showed the communal areas of the bathrooms – no footage was recorded inside any toilet cubicles. The footage dates between April and July 2017 and it has been established that it was never accessed by anyone during this time.

Today an IKEA spokesperson said, “In November 2015, cameras were installed in the ceiling voids above, and corridors outside, 10 bathroom facilities across our Peterborough Distribution Centre. Whilst the intention at the time was to ensure the health and safety of co-workers, we understand the fact that colleagues were filmed unknowingly in these circumstances will have caused real concern; and for this we are sincerely sorry.

“Their installation followed serious concerns about the use of drugs onsite, which, owing to the nature of work carried out at the site, could have very serious consequences for the safety of our co-workers. The cameras placed within the voids were positioned only to record irregular activity in the ceiling voids. They were not intended to, and did not, record footage in the toilet cubicles themselves. However, as a result of ceiling tiles becoming dislodged, two cameras inadvertently recorded footage of the communal areas of two bathrooms for a period of time in 2017. The footage was not viewed at the time and was only recovered as part of these investigations.

“While our policies for the use of cameras have been updated since 2015, following this incident we have carefully reviewed and revised our policies once again to set out very strict controls for their use at any of our sites.”

At the time the cameras were discovered, a number of workers at the site contacted the Peterborough Telegraph to express their concerns.

One said: “I have never heard anything like it before. I am struggling to take it in. How on earth did anyone think that was ever acceptable?

“There must have been thousands of people that might have had their privacy breached in those toilets, there are so many workers that come and go from the place.”

Another added: “They were not wireless cameras, there is a whole network of cable.”