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Mobile Tracking Employees

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HertsCCTV

Afternoon,

I have a question about mobile tracking. With the new advancement in technology you are now able to track people's whereabouts via there mobile.

My first question is:

Is it legal to track the movements of an employee if they are using a company mobile?

At what point does it become illegal?

Does something have to be in there employement contract? I know that you can track employee computer usage but you have to have a policy in place and they have to have signed it. Should this be the case for tracking there mobile?

Cheers
 
HertsCCTV said:
Afternoon,

I have a question about mobile tracking. With the new advancement in technology you are now able to track people's whereabouts via there mobile.

My first question is:

Is it legal to track the movements of an employee if they are using a company mobile?

At what point does it become illegal?

Does something have to be in there employement contract? I know that you can track employee computer usage but you have to have a policy in place and they have to have signed it. Should this be the case for tracking there mobile?

Cheers
Click to expand...

It is legal as we did it with a fleet of ambulance crews. We didn't put anything into their contract but we told them that we were doing it and explained that it was done for HSE purposes after a rick assessment.

A lot of the reasoning depends on what staff are out there and whether they are lone workers or partnered up etc...
 
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The industry sector you are in seems to have a bit of a love affair with trackers and monitoring staff. Always claimed it is for efficiency reasons and prompt customer response etc. Unfortunately it rarely works out that way.

It is invariably used as a method of snooping and spying and has a demoralising effect on staff. Currently seeing it being used exactly like that at moment. Have to say it is not good.

Without wishing to prejudge your intentions and use of monitoring it is worth giving it serious thought and discussion with your team.
 
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The company I'm currently working for has trackers on every one of their 750 vehicles.

These trackers record
  • driver door open
  • driver door closed
  • key in ignition
  • engine started
  • engine stopped
  • excessive idle (no change in GPS co-ordinates >3 mins)
  • speeding violations (speed vs GPS co-ordinates)
  • harsh braking
No hiding place...........
 
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On the other hand,a guy I know got off a speeding ticket as the tracker in his car prooved he was 200 miles away at the time the photograph was taken.
 
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Rasta Pickles said:
The company I'm currently working for has trackers on every one of their 750 vehicles.

These trackers record
  • driver door open
  • driver door closed
  • key in ignition
  • engine started
  • engine stopped
  • excessive idle (no change in GPS co-ordinates >3 mins)
  • speeding violations (speed vs GPS co-ordinates)
  • harsh braking
No hiding place...........
Click to expand...

Wow! Where'd you get all that? :eek:
 
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HertsCCTV said:
Afternoon,

I have a question about mobile tracking. With the new advancement in technology you are now able to track people's whereabouts via there mobile.

My first question is:

Is it legal to track the movements of an employee if they are using a company mobile?

At what point does it become illegal?

Does something have to be in there employement contract? I know that you can track employee computer usage but you have to have a policy in place and they have to have signed it. Should this be the case for tracking there mobile?

Cheers
Click to expand...

To answer your question in Short, your not tracking the employee but the mobile ;) as its a company asset - easy
 
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Atilla said:
The industry sector you are in seems to have a bit of a love affair with trackers and monitoring staff. Always claimed it is for efficiency reasons and prompt customer response etc. Unfortunately it rarely works out that way.

It is invariably used as a method of snooping and spying and has a demoralising effect on staff. Currently seeing it being used exactly like that at moment. Have to say it is not good.

Without wishing to prejudge your intentions and use of monitoring it is worth giving it serious thought and discussion with your team.
Click to expand...

If employees did not take the pee we would not need to do this. If they were doing there job properly then and were where they were paid to be then there would not be any need to snoop. Unfortunately it is the peetaking majority that ruin it for those brilliant employees.

We had an employee some time back who had his tyre punctured and could not move. We asked where he was and he was at his girlfriends. This was not in his break!
 
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I will add as well, we keep hearing about how we have to be careful of demoralising employees, employees do not give a shite about demoralising employers. I know we do not work for them but they want us to trust them don't they?
 
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Consistency said:
If employees did not take the pee we would not need to do this. If they were doing there job properly then and were where they were paid to be then there would not be any need to snoop. Unfortunately it is the peetaking majority that ruin it for those brilliant employees.

We had an employee some time back who had his tyre punctured and could not move. We asked where he was and he was at his girlfriends. This was not in his break!
Click to expand...


save yourself time - write down what you expect from an employee half it and take a bit more off, they really dont bother.



but why should they, all they care for is the wage



I`ve had the Damascus moment.
 
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Consistency said:
If employees did not take the pee we would not need to do this. If they were doing there job properly then and were where they were paid to be then there would not be any need to snoop. Unfortunately it is the peetaking majority that ruin it for those brilliant employees.

We had an employee some time back who had his tyre punctured and could not move. We asked where he was and he was at his girlfriends. This was not in his break!
Click to expand...
You're generalizing again.

Why assume all staff are 'on the rob' ?
 
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Atilla said:
Strikes me it's a very lonely world you live in.

Bet you're a real hoot to work for. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Firm but fair, screwed over by some employers after giving too many chances and learnt by it.

Our company does not do vehicle monitoring but I absolutely support it.
 
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There is new legislation coming in about this because as businesses mobilise their workforce they have a duty to protect them and tracking is a great way of helping with this.

As usual governments, police, and large companies etc etc abuse and scare people off a fantastic technology.

there is still a gray area on when you can and can't track an employee especially WRT hours but tracking is here to stay and when used responsibly by companies it will be seen as a benefit not hinderance to employees.
 
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davek17 said:
There is new legislation coming in about this because as businesses mobilise their workforce they have a duty to protect them and tracking is a great way of helping with this.

As usual governments, police, and large companies etc etc abuse and scare people off a fantastic technology.

there is still a gray area on when you can and can't track an employee especially WRT hours but tracking is here to stay and when used responsibly by companies it will be seen as a benefit not hinderance to employees.
Click to expand...
Nope, can't say i agree with that. Trackers don't protect - they track the vehicle. Not to be confused with lone worker devices.

Can't say it's a fantastic technology either. No more than a tool - and usually abused by a management tool.

As for being here to stay. Surprising how many companies get them ripped out when they become aware of the problems caused.
 
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You can track their mobile as long as the mobiles are owned by the company and you create clear policies that are signed by your employees.
 
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I think it could be legal if it is included in contract, otherwise company should have to tell the employees regarding this. It is beneficial for company to keep an eye on the mobile activities of its employees.
 
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alexsam said:
I think it could be legal if it is included in contract, otherwise company should have to tell the employees regarding this. It is beneficial for company to keep an eye on the mobile activities of its employees.
Click to expand...

yes, I think this is correct. I wanted to track a salesman via his mobile, but was told I had to get his agreement beforehand.

Remember when tachos were first fitted to lorries? The SPY in the cab shock horror.
 
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Atilla said:
The industry sector you are in seems to have a bit of a love affair with trackers and monitoring staff. Always claimed it is for efficiency reasons and prompt customer response etc. Unfortunately it rarely works out that way.

It is invariably used as a method of snooping and spying and has a demoralising effect on staff. Currently seeing it being used exactly like that at moment. Have to say it is not good.

Without wishing to prejudge your intentions and use of monitoring it is worth giving it serious thought and discussion with your team.
Click to expand...


Tracking should never be used to demoralise staff and should be used accordingly to gain the best results from your mobile workforce, the reason many companies have tracking is due to the following which you already maybe aware of.......

Under the new criminal offence of Corporate Manslaughter, for example, senior management of a company can be prosecuted if it is felt someone has been killed due to their gross breach of health and safety laws. Moreover, the legislation also extends to safety failures concerning passengers, other motorists and pedestrians put at risk by an employee’s work-related driving activities.

However, companies able to demonstrate that they have implemented and monitor an effective and appropriate safety risk management system, will have nothing to fear under the new legislation. And for those wanting reassurance that they are doing enough, according to experts the important phrase to remember is “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
​
For companies meeting their duties…​
In the event of a serious or fatal accident involving an employee driving on company business, the police will assess whether a company and its senior management have met their duty of care, and in so doing may well look to the new Driver Hours rules. These provide detailed maximum limits for hours driven daily, weekly and fortnightly, as well as minimum frequencies and lengths for driving breaks and daily rests.

Hope this helps guys as tracking should not be used to demorilise your staff but to help everyone.​
 
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HertsCCTV said:
Afternoon,

I have a question about mobile tracking. With the new advancement in technology you are now able to track people's whereabouts via there mobile.

My first question is:

Is it legal to track the movements of an employee if they are using a company mobile?

At what point does it become illegal?

Does something have to be in there employement contract? I know that you can track employee computer usage but you have to have a policy in place and they have to have signed it. Should this be the case for tracking there mobile?

Cheers
Click to expand...

I suggest you leave your sales force out of your plan, otherwise you may not have too many left!;)
 
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Most mobile employees doss around a have a sleep while being paid. I would track people myself.
 
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G-Force Communications said:
Tracking should never be used to demoralise staff and should be used accordingly to gain the best results from your mobile workforce, the reason many companies have tracking is due to the following which you already maybe aware of.......


.
Click to expand...
Happen to sell these devices by any chance?

What you didn't do is explain how the tracker shows the company have complied with Health & Safety etc - it doesn't.

There is always a nasty, vindictive jobsworth Manager who will always use the trackers as a way to persecute a member of staff.
 
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Atilla said:
Happen to sell these devices by any chance?

What you didn't do is explain how the tracker shows the company have complied with Health & Safety etc - it doesn't.

There is always a nasty, vindictive jobsworth Manager who will always use the trackers as a way to persecute a member of staff.
Click to expand...

The problem is there are systems out there that just trak and are not used to there fullest, we are a TomTom partner and our system is designed to be used as a fleet management tool to help business's, see the 2 links for examples of why companies implement these systems.

http://business.tomtom.com/en_gb/industries/cases/west-dunbartonshire/
http://business.tomtom.com/en_gb/industries/cases/telent/?WT.mc_id=promo_telent

Anyone wanting to use these systems for there sales force should use them wisely to help not hinder them.

I have come across many companies that have used (just trackers) to monitor and i agree it can lower moral but when used properly why noy bring in incentive schemes to reward drivers who drive greener and safer.

What i would say is think long and hard how you implement a system and dont just choose any old tracker based on price get a system that works for your business model, give you a good r.o.i and that works for not just you but your staff.
 
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