Recent case law | Use of Geolocation tools to monitor working time

Published on : 25/04/2019 25 April Apr 04 2019

It happens quite often that companies put in place a geolocation system to monitor and follow up their employee’s activity, in particular for salesmen or those conducting deliveries.
 
French case law has significantly reduced the possible cases in which workers can be tracked using geolocation, to the point that it is nearly forbidden.
 
In a case recently ruled, the litigation related to the validity of a scheme consisting in an electronic device the workers had to carry with them that monitored every ten seconds their location.
 
The employer alleged that this tool was needed to monitor the employee’s working time.
 
Further to an important ruling, the Supreme Court recalls the fundamental principle set by the labor code under which the right of individuals, as well as their individual and collective liberties may not be infringed upon nor restricted unless it is justified by the specific nature of the duty to be performed and is proportional to the goal.
 
Based on this, it ruled that the use of the geolocation system to ensure the working time monitoring is valid only if such monitoring cannot be carried out using another means, even less efficient than the GPS system. 

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