After an employer installed security cameras with the aim of preventing incidents of sexual harassment and documenting and eradicating such incidents, one of the employees resigned, contending harassment and worsening of her work conditions due to the placement of the cameras near her position, and requested to recognize the resignation as an act of dismissal.
The Court accepted the claim due to the infringement upon human dignity, privacy and autonomy. Israeli Privacy Protection Law requires the consent of the victim to the infringement upon his privacy. The degree of consent of the employee should be examined taking into account the inherent power imbalances that exist in employee-employer relationships and the difficulty that the employee has in refusing to install the cameras out of concern that refusal will result in the loss of his job or in not being accepted for work. The matter will be examined based on parameters of legitimacy and proper purpose, the degree of harm and balance against the degree of consent of the employee. Israeli Severance Pay Law recognizes the right of an employee to resign in the event of a dismissal, whether in the case of a material deterioration in the work conditions or in circumstances for which the employee should not be required to continue his work. Here, the employer installed the security cameras for legitimate reasons, but the extent of the infringement upon the employee's privacy was not examined and her consent was not sought at all, but she was presented with a fact. The working conditions deteriorated and therefore the employee's resignation was legitimate and should be recognized as an act of dismissal.