To track or not to track your employees ?

To track or not to track? That’s the question asked by Brian Murray in this article – is it ok to track employees and if so, how? Let’s face it, today in Ireland we are constantly being monitored, be it for speeding, security checks at airports, CCTV in stores, entering multi-storey car parks - SMILE, your on camera! But what about the vehicle you drive for work what are the implications and what has case law thought us? GPS Tracking, CCTV surveillance, and the monitoring of email and Internet usage are areas which have become contentious between Employers / Employees in recent years. A recent Labour Court recommendation has found in favour of UPC in a dispute with Employees in relation to the use of GPS tracking in its fleet of vehicles. This case has again highlighted the importance of notifying Employees of the existence of such tracking, the purpose for which the surveillance is being carried out, and ensuring that the reasoning for this surveillance is objectively justifiable. What is GPS tracking though? A GPS tracking unit is a device, normally carried by a moving vehicle or person, that uses the GPS to determine and track its precise location. The recent UPC dispute with Employees related to the installation of a GPS vehicle management system into the transport fleet. The Union representing Employees in the dispute did not believe that a GPS system would improve the Company callout times etc. and said that there was no need for same. The Union said that this was a form of "big brother" and that it was a step too far. The Union said that there was a mistrust of management and that the privacy of its members was the main concern. This recent case again highlights the importance of an Organisation being able to objectively justify the reason behind such tracking and surveillance systems. We will highlight some of the important considerations for Organisations when utilising different types of surveillance. Some considerations for Organisations are as follows:

• The legitimate need for the surveillance / tracking and the business need for same
• Provision of due notice to Employees, and where the Organisation is unionised, consultation is carried out
• The purposes of the tracking / surveillance and what the outputs of same are to be used for – Every potential use should be laid out to Employees, particularly where data that is collected may be used in disciplinary proceedings or to manage the performance of Employees
• Organisational obligations in relation to data protection, and ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Acts, particularly in relation to personal data, and the timeframes for retention of such data
• Where GPS tracking is to be utilised, that it should not be monitored outside of an Employees working hours

This is all well and good but what about Data Protection? I have heard so much about this but don’t understand, are we not in breach of this? The Organisation should ensure adherence to the Data Protection Acts, and not retain data for longer than is necessary, and objectively justify the retention of such data. Organisations should bear in mind that any person who is recorded using CCTV surveillance is entitled to ask for a copy of this footage. A person who wishes to receive a copy of the footage should request this in writing, and there is a charge of €6.35 for requesting this data. Peninsula can guide you through this process also. If you have any questions in respect of this article then please do not hesitate to contact Brian Murray and the rest of our team on the 24 Hour Advice Service on 0818 923 923 where an advisor is on hand to discuss with you