A Melbourne council is using mobile phone records to monitor its staff, sparking a bitter workplace dispute over "Orwellian surveillance" that could have implications for anyone using a phone provided by their employer.

City of Stonnington recently suspended four enforcement officers who it accuses of rorting ratepayers by claiming to have been at work, when phone records indicated they were outside the municipality.

The officers could face dismissal if the allegations are upheld.

Three of the staff were employed as field service officers, enforcing Stonnington's planning guidelines at pubs and nightclubs in the area, and often received penalty rates for working evening shifts. A fourth worker was also part of the council's enforcement department, but worked day shifts.