This may be the most difficult situation to deal with when flying your drone in public and over commercial premises, simply because some staff will put themselves out on a limb to have a go at you - just to impress their managers and colleagues.

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Remain on Public Land

When filming companies and commercial organisations, remain on public land and never trespass onto their private property. Although trespass is a civil matter, many people don't understand this and will call the police, escalating the situation.

You often see employees like this guy mishandling the situation in respect of boundary lines so use Find My Street and confirm the public boundary if in any doubt.

If you're approached by staff claiming to be security, ask to see their SIA Licence which should be on show (Section 9, Private Security Industries Act 2001) and available on request.

If you're approached by a company employee, ask them to wait until you land your drone, and then engage in conversation. The way you interact with employees of a company should remain much the same as with members of the public but be aware of the GDPR obligations they are subjected to should they begin recording you in a public place.

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Company Polices

Any policies a company may have in relation to drones and drone flights applies to their site and their employees only. They do not and can not be applied to members of the public when on public land. If they choose not to allow drone flights over their property, ban photography on site or prevent videos being taken of their buildings; these apply to employees and visitors of the company only, and not members of the public. As a member of the public, you're allowed to film what you can see.

Be aware of "jobs-worths" who are ignorant to the law. Like the head of security for Virgin Media O2 in this video. Lacking experience in dealing with the public, they can escalate a situation very quickly. These people not only embarrass themselves, but they show their company in a very bad light which then makes them difficult to reason with.

We always wear bodycams when out flying. These are only activated when we encounter argumentative members of the public or jobsworths. Footage of these interactions is always published so if we're dealing with a company employee, this will always make them look incompetent, ignorant, argumentative and will always put them and the company in a bad light.

There are instances where company employees resort to violence to deter photographers and drone pilots. In this video, the Managing Director of Libra Speciality Chemicals Ltd . tries to smack the drone controller out of the auditors hands and then proceeds threaten, assault and push into him. This could have ended very badly indeed if the remote was damaged or hit the ground as the drone could have fallen from the sky to the ground or into the site structures and chemical stores. This video explains why and how this could happen so easily.

While members of the public are allowed to film you flying your drone in public, employees of companies that film you in public whilst in a working capacity without your consent and without Lawful Basis will render the company liable under GDPR Article 6 as a Data Processor. You can request they give you a copy of, and/or that they delete any and all footage they record of you whilst in a public place. See how DJ Audits drops this bombshell. This will be done as a SAR (Subject Access Request).

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GDPR Non-compliance

Note: Non compliance of a formal GDPR request can result in fines for a company of £17.5 million or 4% of the companies worldwide turnover; whichever is greater.

UK Sites Of Interest

See our National Trust, English Heritage and Natural England sections to learn about flying over their properties.

Other Interactions

There are three likely interactions you'll deal with as a drone pilot. Those with the general public, the police and employees (including security) of companies.