Tracker in company car

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Mousehelp

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My company havd put a tracker into my company car. We were advises this was for insurance purposes. I don’t have an issue with this when I am working, even though there is no requirement for the company to know my location at any given time.

my issue is that I am on annual leave for the next 4 weeks and i cannot turn the tracker off and have been told it has to stay on all the time - working of not. Appreciate the company own the car and we have no choice but to take the company car. Not sure I like my every move tracked when I am on leave. Is this legal? Thank you.
 
I have a tracker on my company car. It doesn't bother me at all as the value of a car with no expense for insurance, fuel, tax , wear and tear etc cant be ignored. It can always just be left in the driveway and we use wifes car. Many companies will stipulate the vehicle is for business use only so if you're free to use outside if work that's another added benefit . With regards legality if there were issues there the company might just say to leave the vehicle on their grounds outside of work hours which will mean you have to travel to pick up the car
 
Mousehelp said:
Appreciate the company own the car and we have no choice but to take the company car. Not sure I like my every move tracked when I am on leave.
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If you don't wish to use your company car during your vacation then presumably there's nothing in your conditions of employment that would prevent you from hiring another one.
 
Apologies. Mean I had to accept a company car as a condition of my employment. Thinking of getting a second car For personal use but it means I will have 2 cars as only have one parking space. Seems v unfair that my movements are tracked even when I am not in work.
 
Familyman77 said:
I have a tracker on my company car. It doesn't bother me at all as the value of a car with no expense for insurance, fuel, tax , wear and tear etc cant be ignored. It can always just be left in the driveway and we use wifes car. Many companies will stipulate the vehicle is for business use only so if you're free to use outside if work that's another added benefit . With regards legality if there were issues there the company might just say to leave the vehicle on their grounds outside of work hours which will mean you have to travel to pick up the car
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Thanks familyman. I don’t have a spouse and also Live The other end of the country to where the company are based so leaving the car there is not an option.
 
It doesn't matter when the tracker was installed.

You should have (or know where to locate on the company intranet) the GDPR statement.

And if you don't have it - ask for it and start with that.
 
What has GDPR got to do with a company tracking the movements and locations of their work vehicles, leased or owned? Haven't lorry drivers had to live with the tachograph AKA "the spy-in-the-cab" for some time now?
 
There should be a policy in place in regards to storage, handling and use of data (as there is with tachographs).

OP should start with that.
 
Thirsty said:
There should be a policy in place in regards to storage, handling and use of data (as there is with tachographs).

OP should start with that.
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A bit late now if he's on holidays for the next four weeks! Maybe when he comes back.
 
I spoke to someone in our office and they were saying that if the vehicle is monitored or that data is collected for periods outside of normal working hours then that is when GDPR issues arise. They have a policy whereby data can be accessed outside the normal hours if a vehicle was stolen . The legality issues arent around the tracker itself but the accessing of the data produced . I checked our employee handbook and it says the data is not collected outside working hours or holidays. That might be covered legally but the pessimist in me finds it hard to believe that it's not looked at outside those times
 
Familyman77 said:
That might be covered legally but the pessimist in me finds it hard to believe that it's not looked at outside those times
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and that employee's pessimistic view of the honesty of his/her company about its stated policies makes GDPR relevant? I can't see it.
 
Op here. On holidays but down with my parents in the sunny south east for a few days.:)

thank you for all your replies. Must check employee handbook when I get home but I don’t remember seeing anything.

i never thought too much about tracker but it came up when talking with friends last week and they could not believe how the company insist I have a company car and Track my whereabouts in my time Off. did certainly get me thinking.
 
mathepac said:
and that employee's pessimistic view of the honesty of his/her company about its stated policies makes GDPR relevant? I can't see it.
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Because you are not reading the full post; and possibly a lack of understanding of GDPR and the collection and storage of data.

But hey, who cares OP is already on their holliers!
 
I wouldn’t be happy about being monitored all the time in a works vehicle either, but, I know two individuals using their company vehicles out side of normal business hours.

Both are doing food delivery, one is a car and the other in a van.

They’re using the company fuel and risking the company insurance policy. So, I also see why, if I were to provide a valuable perk, I’d want to know it was not being abused.

Also, if you work in an organisation which has a number of company vehicles, it would be difficult to target certain individuals and for that reason, I would do the fleet.
 
Did your employer or their insurance company put the tracker in the car? If it's the insurance company then the tracker is left on for the duration of the policy. If it was your employer then it can be turned off but either way it is legal as the car is not yours. Your employer has a the right to track their vehicles and their usage if they want - some privacy/GDPR caveats would apply.
Right now you could argue there's a privacy and GDPR issue if the tracking information is used for reasons other than insurance as that's the reason the company gave you for fitting it.
You need to find out who fitted the tracker and for what reason. Who has access to the information and what is the information being used for.
 
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