Geolocation at work

Geolocation as personal data

Geolocation consists of knowing the geographic location in real time of an asset (vehicle, smartphone, PC, etc.) and if this asset is related to the person using it, this is when we obtain personal data.

This is where data protection data protection regulationscomes into play, since Article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) defines personal data as any information that identifies a natural person or, thanks to this information, makes him/her identifiable, and gives as an example of personal data, a name, an identification number, location data, etc.

It is also a particularly sensitive personal data, as it intimately affects privacy, since knowing where we are at all times allows us to obtain a profile of our habits and customs, which says a lot about us and our behavior.

Geolocation at work

It is becoming more and more common to carry out corporate surveillance controls in the workplace by means of various systems:

— Video surveillance in work areas

— Monitoring of IT assets

— Biometrics ( fingerprint, facial recognition, etc.) for workday registration

And also Geolocation, which also raises the lawfulness of the processing of this type of personal data ;

Are these methods valid for labor control?

What are the data protection implications?

Are there limits?

What does the jurisprudence say about this?

We will expose relevant aspects to take into account in any business activity, when implementing a Geolocation system, and for this, we will refer to the Geolocation systems used in vehicles and mobile devices (Smartphones, roaming PC’s, Tablets…).

The duty to inform about Geolocation

It will be mandatory to inform employees who will be using vehicles or mobile devices that have geolocation devices, but the employee’s consent is not required.

And consent is not necessary, because it is understood that this processing is carried out within the framework of the employment relationship (exception contained in Article 6.1 of the Data Protection Act(LOPD-GDD), where the employer, under its management powers and according to Article 20.3 of the Workers’ Statute, may adopt the necessary monitoring and control measures to verify compliance with the employee’s labor obligations and duties.

It should be clarified that the company has the limitation of respecting the fundamental rights of workers and safeguarding their dignity, but they will not be absolute rights, when they are within the company, since the working time and assets used for this purpose by the employee are the direct responsibility of the company.

Proportionality Principle

Geolocating workers will only be legal if a series of requirements are met:

Proportionality:

There must be more benefits than detriments.

Suitability:

Geolocation must achieve the purpose for which it is used.

Need:

There will not be a more moderate resource with the same effectiveness in achieving the objective.

Disciplinary sanctions

In order for the company to be able to use geolocation information to impose a disciplinary sanction and for it to be admitted as such, it must comply with the above, but the case should also be analyzed individually for each company, to establish whether the geolocation treatment is justified or not, whether it has been proportional and not excessive.

External assistance

To ensure that the processing of geolocation data complies with data protection regulations, hire a good data protection company to handle your data protection needs:

—Impact Assessment ( elaboration, analysis and implementation of measures)

—Registration of Processing Activities ( inclusion of the activity, risk analysis, etc.)

— Access Authorization Protocols and Inventory of assets with geolocation.

— Preparation of informative clauses for employees.

Business Adapter as an expert company in data protection will manage these obligations for your organization. Do not hesitate and put yourself in expert hands

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