What are the laws on name badges at work?
There are no specific laws against it, but I think if you had a quiet word with HR, saying that you were uncomfortable with people knowing your whole name and you’d rather they didn’t, then they’d probably be sympathetic. There is no reason for you to display your surname – it doesn’t affect how you do your job! Otherwise, make up a surname… Of course, in the Olde Days, you wouldn’t get to find out someone’s name unless they were introduced to you. Even then, you’d only find out their first name if they were not the eldest in their family (think of Mr Darcy). Otherwise it would be “Miss Bennett [i.e. Jane], Miss Eliza Bennett, Miss Mary Bennett, Miss Kitty Bennett and Miss Lydia Bennett”.
Hmmm. The Civil Liberties Act 1988 concerned US-Japanese citizens and reparations for their treatment during WWII. Not sure whjat that ahs to do with name badges. The DPA concerns the storage and retrival of data on paper-based and couputer systems and the safeguards which have to be undertaken when a company has that info. The Act does not have a section on name badges. You could do what they do at my local Homebase and swap badges all the time. Or you could give a false surname. Or you could apply for a job which does not require you to wear a name-badge at all. If there is a law on name badges at work, i have not come across it yet in my years as a lawyer.
