Now a mobile app to spy on lazy workers

LONDON, UK: A mobile phone "clocking-on machine" now spies on lazy workers misusing company cars.

The Crystal Ball mobile phone application works the same way as an in-car satellite navigation system.

It allows bosses to keep a tab on their employees' locations, their incoming and outgoing phone calls and messages, plus all of their internet traffic via their company mobile.

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Compatible with most smart phones, it spells the end for workers on the road taking long lunches, claiming they're stuck on a conference call or that they're held up in traffic, the Daily Mail reports.

Company director Raj Singh, 49, came up with the application after bosses frequently complained to him about workers using company cars for moving house or for airport runs.

Once an employee has logged on for the day, the application allows his manager to follow his movements and phone traffic remotely.

At the end of the working day, the employee can activate the system's privacy function to prevent their movements being recorded.

The software - compatible with GPS-enabled smart phones such as Blackberry, Nokia and HTC - can also notify the employer who is driving the company car if there's more than one person in the vehicle, plus feed back real-time statistics including speed, location, distance and journey time.

Singh uses the software on his own team of 30 staff at his firm in Manchester.

He said: "Office-based staff have always been monitored but now out of office staff can be too. If an employee is using a business phone or vehicle, it's only fair that the company boss knows how and when it is being used."