Monitoring employees' private journeys is a significant challenge for many companies. These organisations face a difficult task: on the one hand, they want to manage their fleet effectively, which translates into savings and greater business efficiency. On the other hand, they must respect their employees' privacy and avoid breaches that could lead to conflict or even legal issues. So how can these two seemingly contradictory needs be reconciled? The aim of this article is to present methods and tools that make it possible to account for employees' private journeys accurately and fairly, while respecting their privacy. We will help you strike a balance between optimising fleet management and respecting the individuality of every employee.
Legal regulations
Under the GDPR, employers may process employees' personal data only where this is necessary, proportionate and lawful. Employers must also inform employees about what data is collected, how it is processed and how long it is retained.
In the context of monitoring company vehicles, these principles mean that companies must inform employees about the introduction of a GPS tracking system, its purpose and its scope. In addition, they must ensure that data collected through the tracking system is used only for business purposes and is adequately protected.
On the one hand, companies have the right to track company vehicles in order to optimise costs, manage the fleet effectively and monitor fuel consumption. It is also a way of understanding how company vehicles are used outside working hours. On the other hand, employees have a right to privacy, even when they use company vehicles. For private use, the rules should be set out in the fleet policy, and written confirmation should be obtained from the driver that they are aware of the tracking or consent to it. This confirmation should be kept on file.
If there is a concern that employees will not consent to GPS tracking of their private journeys, there is another solution: the tracking function can be switched off for private mode. Obtaining consent from 100 to 200 users is difficult, because there is almost always someone who will not agree. A lack of agreement can make the telematics roll-out either impossible (if the resistance comes from board members) or incomplete (if it comes from operational users). The solution to this problem may be a private mode, which in extreme cases can be active all the time. This approach avoids potential problems with refused consent and ensures that telematics is implemented in a way that is acceptable to all parties.
Here are some example provisions that could be included in a fleet policy covering the GDPR and GPS tracking:
- Employee consent to GPS tracking:
- The vehicle user confirms that they are aware that the vehicle they use is fitted with a GPS tracker that records parameters such as geographical position, driving speed, etc.
- If the vehicle user does not consent to tracking during private use, they may use the so-called Private Mode, a function that hides their location outside working hours. Private Mode is controlled from the mobile app for Android and iOS phones. After completing a private journey, the vehicle user is obliged to switch Private Mode off.
- Purpose of GPS tracking:
- GPS tracking is carried out for purposes related to fleet management, reducing fleet running costs and monitoring how the fleet is used. GPS data is used exclusively for business purposes and is not shared with third parties without prior consent or unless requested by law enforcement authorities.
- GPS data is not used to monitor the employee in a way unrelated to their work or in breach of their privacy.
- Employee rights:
- The employee has the right to access their GPS data and to have it corrected if errors are found.
- The employee has the right to request the deletion of their GPS data, provided it is no longer necessary for business purposes and there are no other legal grounds preventing such deletion.
- Data security:
- All GPS data is treated as confidential and protected with appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access.
- Access to GPS data is restricted to authorised employees or third parties acting on behalf of the company and bound by a confidentiality agreement.
- Access to the data is granted only to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the tracking and in line with the authorisation rules.
Bear in mind that the examples above are only general guidance. It is advisable to consult your fleet policy with a lawyer or data protection specialist in order to adapt it to the specific legal requirements and GDPR regulations in force in your country or region.
Ways of reporting private journeys
Monitoring private mileage while respecting drivers' privacy is a challenge that many companies have to solve. One effective solution is to use a fleet management application such as Navifleet, which enables both effective monitoring and protection of employees' privacy.
Private/business mileage switch in the mobile app
The Navifleet Driver app lets drivers mark the type of journey themselves: business or private. The moment a driver marks a journey as private, their location is no longer tracked and nobody can check their position. Even so, the fleet manager still has access to general statistics such as mileage, fuel consumption and driving style. This makes it possible to control fleet costs and identify uneconomical and unsafe drivers, even when they use private mode. The fleet manager can monitor private mileage and driving style without infringing on employees' privacy.
It is worth noting that there are companies whose employees accept journey tracking even during holidays, which is why using the location-hiding option in our app is not mandatory.
Schedule of days off and public holidays
It sometimes happens that employees abuse the trust placed in them by their employer, marking most of their journeys as business journeys even during holiday periods or days off. Under the fleet policy, journeys to and from the workplace are automatically treated as business journeys. In some companies there is also a practice that allows activities such as shopping or picking children up from school to be counted as "business" driving. Private mileage, on the other hand, covers journeys on working days outside working hours, on Saturdays and Sundays, and on public holidays.
With Navifleet there is no need for employees to switch the driving mode manually in the mobile app. The schedule automatically switches them to private mode on designated days off and then restores business mode. For exceptional situations, however, such as employees' holidays or a Saturday that falls on a working day, our mobile app lets them correct the settings applied by the schedule instantly, with a single tap.
Navifleet lets you control private and business mileage and also assigns every fleet manager a dedicated account manager who looks after the success of the roll-out and the effectiveness of fleet management.
Reporting journeys outside the area of operation
Sometimes individual working hours are so irregular that creating a universal work schedule is impossible. In such situations, to avoid extremes and not monitor every journey, fleet teams base their approach on regionalisation and account only for long-distance business journeys that go beyond a given person's area of operation. This method may not capture a weekend trip out of town, but on the other hand every longer journey will be precisely recorded, together with its distance and fuel consumption.
Building communication and procedures
Clearly formulated rules and procedures for the use of company vehicles are key to the process of monitoring employees' private journeys.
The first step in regulating communication and procedures is to develop clear and precise rules on the private use of company cars. Employees should be informed precisely which journeys are and are not treated as private (for example, whether commuting to and from work counts as private or business).
Another important aspect is developing clear procedures for reporting private journeys, for example by text message, by phone, in writing on the trip sheet or via the mobile app. For shared vehicles, known as pool vehicles, it is also necessary to define the deadlines by which a report must be made, to ensure proper work organisation and vehicle availability for other employees.
The employee should be informed about this form of monitoring and its purposes. It is also important to ensure adequate protection of employees' personal data and compliance with the applicable data protection regulations.
Another aspect that needs to be regulated is covering the costs of employees' private journeys. If you decide to charge based on vehicle use (for example, the number of private kilometres per month), you need to define which costs will be covered by the employee and which by the company. It is best to express this cost as a rate per kilometre. The customary rate that passes the cost of fuel and running costs on to the user is around PLN 0.60/km. If you want to soften the monetisation of private mileage, you can introduce an allowance of free private kilometres. The industry standard is 200 km per month, which the user can drive privately completely free of charge. Various billing models can be considered, for example flat-rate fees for the private use of a company car, or settlement based on the actual costs of fuel and vehicle running costs.
Finally, an important issue is introducing effective sanctions for breaching the agreed rules on the private use of company cars. Employees should be informed about the consequences of failing to comply with these rules, such as financial or disciplinary penalties. At the same time, it is also important to establish appeal procedures for employees who believe the sanctions imposed are unjustified or unfair. In practice, if an employee is on an employment contract, their consent is required to deduct charges for private driving from their salary. In a vehicle fleet, financial sanctions can be difficult to apply. In such cases, softer measures are possible, such as a recommendation to the line manager to withdraw the right to a bonus, lowering the standard of the car, or reducing the allowance of free private kilometres.
A properly designed system for accounting for private journeys (in terms of both technical tools and procedures) will help avoid many misunderstandings and conflicts between the fleet manager and users, and between the fleet manager and the board.
Accounting for private kilometres
One element that needs to be defined is the monetisation of kilometres driven for private purposes, which is an important step in building savings by recovering part of the running costs from users. This matters because private kilometres affect the fleet's TCO.
Two methods can be distinguished when it comes to accounting for private journeys. The first, known as the PAYD or PHYD method, involves setting a rate for every kilometre driven for private purposes and multiplying private mileage by it. This is a flexible approach that allows various factors to be taken into account, such as driving style or a possible allowance of free kilometres. Setting the rate precisely enables adequate settlement of the costs of employees' private journeys.
The second method is controlling and settling the costs of refuelling company vehicles. By scanning or photographing receipts from petrol stations, employers can verify actual fuel expenditure. This enables a more accurate and fairer settlement of costs. At the same time, fuel cards need to be verified properly to ensure honesty and reliability in the settlements. A receipt for fuel purchased with a fuel card should not be taken into account when settling employees' private journeys.
It is also worth noting that popular methods of controlling private use, such as checking fuel-card refuelling on days off or analysing transaction statements from petrol stations, may not be effective enough. Some employees may try to cheat the system by refuelling before and after the weekend or giving an inaccurate odometer reading. That is why it is important to look for alternative solutions, especially for fleet managers who do not have access to advanced telematics systems. There is a need for effective control tools that allow more precise monitoring of the private use of company cars.
Verifying fuel cards, eliminating fraud and seeking effective control tools are essential to ensure the honesty, reliability and effectiveness of the process of monitoring private journeys.
Monitoring private mileage without surveillance in a nutshell
In this article we have presented practical strategies and solutions that enable companies to monitor employees' private journeys effectively while respecting their privacy. Here is how to carry out an effective roll-out of monitoring and privacy protection in 4 steps:
- Set the rules for accounting for private mileage
Work with the board to establish the rules for accounting for private journeys. Start by building a solid business case, using telematics data (you can take advantage of a free trial) or drawing on other companies' experience (what driving at weekends and during holidays costs: see the case study). You can attach to your proposal for the board the method that best suits your organisation. Once the board has approved the idea for additional savings, move on to the next step. - Define the tools you need
Your approach will depend on whether you prefer to rely on declarations from users or on detailed usage reports. A simple messaging tool, a shared online Excel sheet or telematics may be enough for you. If you choose the less labour-intensive option, telematics, make sure you understand the technical capabilities around privacy protection, analysis and data precision. Check which settlement methods work best.
- Prepare proposed provisions for the fleet policy
It is advisable to consult this step with legal counsel (external or in-house), focusing mainly on the appropriate provisions on personal data privacy. These are important matters that vehicle users will appreciate, knowing that their data is treated with due seriousness. In the fleet policy you must also explain precisely for what purposes and why you intend to charge for private kilometres, as well as the rules under which this will happen. - Give yourself time for a pilot
Do not jump in at the deep end straight away. Start by collecting data, study it and verify that it does not lead to wrong conclusions. Projects like this should be rolled out in a fleet gently, so that everyone involved has time to get used to the change. Taking too strict an approach from the very start can provoke quiet opposition and voices of discontent that may grow into a tsunami and sweep away your idea for extra money in the fleet budget.
Remember to adapt these points to the needs and characteristics of your organisation. Effective fleet management is not only crucial for the company's efficiency but also affects its image, employee satisfaction and compliance with applicable legal regulations. Regardless of fleet size, understanding and properly applying monitoring technology and strategy can bring real business benefits.
