1 Under what circumstances, if any, do you think it would be appropriate for an employer to make use of such technology?

It is estimated that £650 million in housing benefits is overpaid annually in the UK through fraud or error. Birmingham Council, the largest local authority in the UK, is concerned that more than £1 million a year in social benefit payments is being claimed fraudulently. As a result, it is to use a telephone lie-
detection system in an effort to identify benefit cheats and will rely on expert assistance provided by Capita, the outsourcing business. In the pilot scheme a telephone-
based assessment will replace the interview.
Capita, acting for Birmingham Council, is engaged in mounting a pilot scheme using software that will scan claimants’ speech patterns, looking for irregularities consistent with lying, such as changes in speed or tone. The pitch of the human voice tends to rise when a person is lying, and a tremor may become apparent. It is said that the measurement of callers’
voices would be carefully calibrated so that nervousness or shyness is not a trigger to arouse suspicion.