Britain’s major firms in talks to implant employees with microchips

Britain’s major legal and trade firms are seemingly planning to implant their employees with microchips, in a bid to boost business security and prevent access to restricted areas.

Sources familiar the matter state that the microchips, implanted in the flesh between the thumb and forefinger, would enable employees to control daily job activities like opening front door, accessing office equipment, recording medical data, or even starting their vehicle with a wave of their hand. Reportedly, the Swedish company, Biohax is in talks with UK’s several legal and financial firms to implant employees with these devices which are about the same size as a grain of rice and cost around £150.

According to The Daily Mail, Jowan Österlund, founder of Biohax, said that the microchips would allow companies to set restrictions on their employees as they possess sensitive documents. Biohax has successfully implanted microchips on around 4,000 people in Sweden, of which 85 are employees of travel firm Tui, Österlund added. As per sources, Biohax is currently working with the state-owned Swedish train transport company, Statens Järnvägar, to enable passengers to travel via chip implants rather than traditional train tickets.

Apparently, UK’s medical device manufacturer, BioTeq, which also offers similar implants to individuals and businesses, has reportedly installed 150 such implants in the UK.

Steven Northam, founder and owner of Hampshire-based BioTeq, was quoted saying that most of its 150 implants included individuals, while some consisted of engineering and financial firms. BioTeq has also microchipped employees of a bank for testing the technology, and has shipped its units to France, Spain, Germany, China and Japan.

For the record, Northam including all the directors of BioTeq and one of his other companies, IncuHive, have already implanted themselves with microchips.

Incidentally, UK's premier business organization, The CBI (Confederation of British Industry), which represents the region’s 190,000 businesses, voiced concerns about the move saying that firms should be concentrating more on immediate business priorities and focusing on engaging their employees normally.