What is an employee tracking system?

An employee tracking system is a system to monitor employee attendance, behavior or performance. Does an employer not use a system to monitor employees, but could? Even then, this is a personnel tracking system. Personnel tracking systems are therefore quite common in organizations.

Examples of a personnel tracking system are:

• A system that records attendance, time and access;

• a track & trace system in (cargo) cars, such as a GPS tracker, black box or on-board computer ;

• software that records, for example, keystrokes, e-mail traffic and/or Internet usage of employees ;

• camera surveillance in the workplace ;

• wearables , such as a smartwatch;

• A system that tracks customer contacts;

• a system that supports the handling of work (workflow or case system);

• a provision within a system that records employee access to (sensitive) records (logging);

• A system that uses a pass or badge to record an employee's presence and/or location within a building.

Consent staff tracking system

The Works Council has the right to consent to a proposed employee tracking system regulation. This is stated in Section 27(1)(l) of the Works Councils Act (WOR).

Does the Works Council not approve? Then, in principle, the employer may not use the personnel tracking system. Does the employer want to do this anyway? Then the employer can ask the subdistrict court for permission (Section 27, fourth paragraph, WOR).

Note: Does an employer not use a particular system to track employees, but could? Even then, this is an employee tracking system. And thus the Works Council has the right of consent. The OR can then make agreements on how the system is used by agreeing to the use of the system under certain conditions.

Keys personnel tracking system

It is important for you as a Works Council to critically review a proposed employee tracking system arrangement. Does your organization have a data protection officer (FG)? If so, he or she can advise you. 

You can review the proposed rule on the following points:

• Is there an employee tracking system in place?

• Is it necessary to use a personnel tracking system?

• Will employees be notified in advance of the observation?

• Is staff assessment based solely on data collected with person tracking systems?

Source: https://www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/themas/werk-en-uitkering/ondernemingsraad/de-or-en-personeelsvolgsystemen, accessed May 15, 2024.