--- title: "British Companies Are Implanting Microchips in Their Employees" description: "Companies in the UK are implanting microchips in their employees that can be used to access company buildings and store information." date: "2018-11-13" modified: "2018-11-13" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/british-companies-implanting-microchips" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "biohax of sweden" - "bioteq" - "microchipping" --- # British Companies Are Implanting Microchips in Their Employees ![Companies in the UK are implanting microchips in their employees that can be used to access company buildings and store information.]() *\Image: BioTeq\* ## Chip's Challenge U.K. tech firm BioTeq has carved out an unusual niche for itself: implanting microchips into the hands of other companies' workers. According to a [new story]() in the *Guardian*, BioTeq is one of several firms that companies in the U.K. are hiring to implant RFID microchips into their employees. The employees can then use the chips to access company buildings and store information. ## Put the Chip in Me BioTeq founder Steven Northam told the *Guardian* that most of the company's work is for individuals who want to use the the chips to access their own homes and cars. However, it has implanted RFID chips in the hands of workers in the financial and engineering sectors, too — though the procedure is voluntary. It's also shipped the chips to other countries including Spain, France, Germany, Japan, and China. Another firm, Biohax of Sweden, may [soon start providing]() similar services in the U.K. ## Labor Rights Workers' rights groups in the U.K. are up in arms about the trend of implanting workers with microchips, which they worry will give employers new tools to surveil employees. "Microchipping would give bosses even more power and control over their workers," said Frances O'Grady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, in an interview with the *Guardian*. "There are obvious risks involved, and employers must not brush them aside, or pressure staff into being chipped." **READ MORE:** [Alarm Over Talks to Implant UK Employees With Microchips]() \[*The Guardian*\] ***More on microchip implants: [All the Rage in Sweden: Embedding Microchips Under Your Skin]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()