Telephone monitoring policy

The Income Tax Division has a telephone system that is capable of recording conversations originating from the main phone number 685400. Like many other organisations, this is a standard practice that allows the recording of telephone calls for staff training, quality monitoring and security purposes, but because the information which callers give to us and the advice which we give to callers about their income tax affairs can have legal and other consequences, we consider that recording your calls to the Division is in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us as the recorder.

  • The calls received will be recorded and these recordings will only be used for the purposes specified in the policy. 
  • The data is stored securely on the Isle of Man Government’s own servers which are located in the Isle of Man.
  • Callers are informed of the recording process through the welcome message system.
  • The system is password protected and there are only limited officers who have access.
  • If a caller does not wish the rest of the call to be recorded, the Division will ring back from a phone without recording capabilities after considering whether additional safeguards need to be put in place, such as asking a second officer to listen in to the conversation with the caller’s consent, in order that a written record of the conversation may be made.  The caller will be told what (if any) those safeguards are when called back, but if these are not acceptable we will be unable to deal with the enquiry over the phone.
  • Recordings made of calls will be destroyed after 6 months from the date of the call (unless they are needed for evidential purposes in which case they will be retained until 6 months after the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings end), but callers can request that they be deleted earlier if the Division does not require them for ongoing enquiries.
  • All data will be dealt with in accordance with Treasury’s privacy policy - To find out more about how we collect and use personal information, contact any of our offices or visit our website. We will send you a paper copy if you telephone us or write to us.

Why we need a policy

We need a policy to ensure that the use of these recordings is fair and to ensure that we comply with the requirements of the relevant legislation. This includes:

  • The Regulation of Surveillance etc. Act
  • The Human Rights Act
  • The Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation

How it affects you

If you make a call to the Division the call may be recorded. Under normal circumstances it will not be retrieved or monitored, unless it is necessary to investigate a complaint, there is a threat to the health and safety of staff or visitors or for the prevention or detection of crime.

As part of the Division’s quality system, the recorded calls will be subject to random checking to ensure that the Division’s standards regarding customer service, confidentiality and KYC (Know Your Customer) are being met.  We might sometimes anonymise your details and use the recording for training purposes, taking every reasonable step to ensure that your voice or other identifiable details which might lead to you being recognised by those receiving the training are disguised or removed.

Further information

For further information on the policy, please contact the Division and ask to speak to one of the Assessing Operational Managers.

Isle of Man Government will not tolerate abusive language or behaviour either by or to its members of staff. All staff have the right to work without fear or verbal or physical abuse.

This policy was updated in January 2019.