MD015Geolocation of vehicles and devices

The recording of the position of a vehicle or device issued to a worker.

Pillar: MD | Monitoring and detection
Sources cited: 10
Added: 30 AUGUST 2026
Updated: 1 SEPTEMBER 2026

Control	Jurisdiction	Source	What it establishes	Prerequisite or recommendation
MD015/EUMandatory	European Union	Regulation (EU) 2016/679, articles 5(2), 6, 9, 12, 15, 22, 35, and 88European Parliament and Council · read 11 Aug 2026Opinion 2/2017 on data processing at work (WP249)Article 29 Data Protection Working Party · read 11 Aug 2026	The grounds on which processing may rest, the burden of showing it, the categories whose processing is prohibited outright save on a named ground, what a person asking has to be told and by when, the limit on deciding about someone by machine alone, when an impact assessment is owed, and the leave each member state has to set its own employment rule.	A ground under article 6 has to be identified before anything is collected through the tracking device, and whatever more specific rule the member state has made under article 88 applies on top of it. Consent is rarely that ground in an employment relationship, since it has to be freely given and the imbalance there makes that doubtful.
MD015/CoEMandatory	Council of Europe	Florindo de Almeida Vasconcelos Gramaxo v. PortugalEuropean Court of Human Rights, Fourth Section · read 11 Aug 2026‘Just more surveillance’: The ECtHR and workplace monitoringMole and Mangan · read 11 Aug 2026	That geolocation of a company vehicle, inside and outside working hours, did not violate article 8 on the facts, by four votes to three.	Tracking a company vehicle through and beyond working hours has survived on its facts, on a bench divided four to three, with the mileage relied on separated from the location data as a whole. A case note reads the majority as having placed the technology itself largely beyond examination, so the survival is weaker authority than it appears.
MD015/ATMandatory	Austria	Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz, sections 96 and 96aNationalrat · read 29 Aug 2026	That a control measure touching human dignity has no legal effect without the works council’s consent, and that consent for automated processing and for assessment systems can be replaced by a conciliation board while consent under section 96 cannot.	The works council’s consent is the condition of the tracking device having legal effect, and the threshold is whether it touches human dignity.
MD015/FRMandatory	France	Code du travail, articles L1121-1, L1222-4, and L2312-38République française · read 16 Aug 2026	Consultation of the social and economic committee before the decision, prior knowledge for the worker, and proportionality to the task.	The social and economic committee has to be informed and consulted before the decision to put the tracking device in place, and the worker informed before it reaches them.
MD015/DEMandatory	Germany	Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, section 87(1)(6)Bundestag · read 16 Aug 2026	Co-determination by the works council over the introduction and the use of technical devices intended to monitor conduct or performance.	The works council has to agree before introducing the tracking device, and again on the manner in which it is used.
MD015/ITMandatory	Italy	Sentenza n. 3462/2026Corte di Cassazione, First Section · read 16 Aug 2026	That vehicle tracking is processing of worker data wherever the driver can be identified, including indirectly.	Tracking requires notification to the supervisory authority wherever the driver can be identified, and identification through vehicle assignment is enough.
MD015/NLMandatory	Netherlands	Wet op de ondernemingsraden, article 27(1)(l)Staten-Generaal · read 16 Aug 2026	Consent of the works council for an arrangement directed at or merely suitable for observing presence, conduct, or performance.	The works council has to consent before any arrangement governing the tracking device is adopted, amended, or withdrawn.
MD015/ESMandatory	Spain	Ley Orgánica 3/2018, articles 87, 89, and 90Cortes Generales · read 16 Aug 2026	A right to privacy in employer-provided devices, and the express prior information owed before camera images or location data are processed.	Location data may be processed for the control functions in article 20.3, on the same condition of express prior information.