Employee shows her entire workday in a Tiktok video – and gets fired

Bry shared a TikTok video about her typical workday at MAC Cosmetics at LAX Airport in Los Angeles. The video begins, "Come to work with me at LAX as a MAC manager—no trendy soundtrack!" Bry adds timestamps for all her activities, from boarding the shuttle bus at 9 a.m. to passing through security a half hour later.

Bry demonstrates how she "collects" the money to put in the cash register for her workday. She also records her conversations with customers in her store. In one conversation, she tells a customer that a certain brand is out of stock; in another, she gives another customer a sample.

A little later in the video, a close-up of Bry's face appears, with makeup running from her eyes. Below the timestamp is the caption: "Fired." The distribution of the video cost Bry her job. She leaves the store with a box of her belongings. She looks back sadly at the camera. This is the "plot twist no one wanted." She continues, tearfully lamenting: "I love my job. I would never have done anything to jeopardize it."

Bry finds little sympathy among her followers. "You showed your ID, the opening hours, the amount of money you have on you... All security risks," reads one comment. Another user writes: "I don't know why you all think it's appropriate to record every aspect of your workday. Go to work and leave your phones alone."

Filming and publishing everyday work is generally not permitted in this country either. The consent of the employer and all visible persons is required to protect trade secrets or damaging information. Violating personal rights or data protection can lead to legal consequences, such as a warning or, in the worst case, even dismissal.

• Employer consent: Make sure your employer agrees to the recordings and that they do not violate any internal company policies.
• Consent of the persons depicted: Every person who is identifiable in the video must give their consent. Without this consent, publication is not permitted and may violate privacy rights.
• Data protection (GDPR): Observe the requirements of the GDPR. The collection and processing of data must be transparent and pursue a legitimate purpose.
• Trade secrets: Avoid recording information that could be harmful to the company, such as internal data or particularly sensitive areas.
• Confidential areas: Do not film in areas intended for privacy, such as locker rooms, restrooms, or break rooms.
• Copyright: For videos that you want to distribute, you should make sure that you own the copyright.