Company vehicle GPS tracking in Spain: is it legal?

Yes, company vehicle GPS tracking is legal in Spain when your employees drive the vehicle, as long as you tell them beforehand, in writing and clearly, that the tracker exists, what it is for and what rights they have. Tracking must also be limited to working hours and be proportionate to what you need to control. If you do that, the GPS data can even stand as evidence before a Spanish court.

Is company vehicle GPS tracking legal in Spain? What the law says

Two rules apply, and they are read together:

• Article 20.3 of the Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Spain's main employment law) lets an employer adopt monitoring and control measures to check that staff meet their work obligations, while respecting their dignity.
• Article 90 of the Organic Law on Data Protection (LOPDGDD) sets out how to do this with geolocation. You can use it for employment control, but you must first inform staff, expressly, clearly and unambiguously, that the device exists, what its features are, and that they have the rights of access, rectification, restriction and erasure.

Put simply: the GPS itself is not the problem. The problem is fitting it in secret, using it for something other than what you said, or checking where someone is on a Sunday afternoon.

What do I have to tell employees, and how?

The law says the information must be prior, express, clear and unambiguous. In practice that means:

1. In writing. A document the employee receives and that you can prove you handed over.
2. Before the GPS is switched on. Telling them once it has been running for a month does not count.
3. With specific content: that the vehicle has a tracker, what data it collects (position, journeys, kilometres), what you use it for, who can see it, how long you keep it and how they can exercise their rights.
4. Together with a vehicle use policy. If the vehicle is for work only, say so. If private use is allowed, explain the conditions.

Asking for a signed acknowledgement of receipt is the safest approach. Even so, the High Court of Justice of Madrid (judgment 144/2021) found the monitoring valid because staff had been informed, even without a signed receipt. Do not treat that as an excuse: a signature saves arguments.

Can I see where the vehicle is outside working hours?

This is where most companies get it wrong. The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), in its guide La protección de datos en las relaciones laborales (data protection in employment, 2021), is clear:

• Tracking must be limited to working hours.
• Geolocating outside working hours, during breaks or during sick leave is excessive.
• Data from outside working hours requires the employee's express consent.
• Nobody can be forced to be trackable 24 hours a day.

What if staff take the van home?

This is very common in building work, installations and technical services: the worker drives from home straight to the first job. You have two sensible options:

• Switch off or do not use tracking outside working hours. The vehicle is still there, but you do not look at or process that data.
• Separate the uses. Set out in writing which journeys are work and which are not, and only process the work ones.

What you should not do is leave the GPS running with no rules and check the map whenever you feel curious. That is exactly what the AEPD considers disproportionate.

Proportionality: use the GPS for what you said

Proportionality means the monitoring must be appropriate, necessary and no more intrusive than the goal requires. A few simple questions help:

The principle of data minimisation points the same way: collect and look at only what you need. If what matters to you is mileage and renewal dates, you do not need to review every stop each driver makes.

The 2020 Supreme Court ruling, explained without jargon

The judgment of Spain's Supreme Court (Social Chamber) of 15 September 2020, appeal 528/2018, is the reference everyone quotes. The case, in brief:

• An employee had a company vehicle with GPS.
• The company had a policy that banned private use of the vehicle, and she knew about it.
• The GPS showed she had used the car outside her working hours and while on sick leave.
• The company dismissed her and used the GPS data as evidence.

The Supreme Court ruled the evidence valid. The key was not the technology, but the fact that the employee knew the vehicle was tracked and knew she could not use it privately. She had no expectation of privacy for that use.

The practical lesson for your business: if you inform staff properly and have a clear use policy, the GPS protects you. If you do not inform them, that same data can be turned against you.

Compliance checklist before you install

Before fitting trackers to your vans, run through this list:

1. Write the vehicle use policy: work only, or private use allowed, and under what conditions.
2. Give each driver the information in writing before the GPS is switched on, and keep the acknowledgement.
3. Define the purpose: organisation, vehicle security, maintenance, employment control. If you plan to use it for disciplinary action, say so.
4. Limit tracking to working hours and decide what happens during private use.
5. Restrict access: each person sees only what they need.
6. Set a retention period for the data and stick to it.

If you have workers' legal representatives, inform them too. And if the trackers are already fitted and you have done none of this, do not wait: inform staff now and work with clear rules from then on.

Sample information clause (guidance only)

This text is only a starting point. It is for guidance and is not a substitute for legal advice: adapt it to your business with your adviser. In Spain the notice will normally be given in Spanish, so have your adviser prepare the final wording.

Information about the vehicle tracking system

[Company name] informs you that the vehicle with registration [number plate], which the company provides for you to carry out your work, has a GPS tracking system that records its position, the journeys made and the kilometres driven.

Purpose: [organisation of work, vehicle security, maintenance management and monitoring of compliance with employment obligations, under art. 20.3 of the Workers' Statute and art. 90 of the LOPDGDD].

The data will only be processed during working hours. [Private use of the vehicle is not permitted / Private use is permitted under the conditions of the attached use policy, and during that time location data will not be viewed or processed].

Access to the data: [roles or people]. The data will be kept for [period].

You can exercise your rights of access, rectification, restriction and erasure by contacting [email or address].

Received: [employee's name, date and signature].

How a well designed tool helps

The law focuses on informing staff and not seeing more than you need, and the tool you choose can make that easier or harder. In Vehistrack for business, the team works with permissions: each driver sees only their own vehicle and each person has access to what their role requires. Drivers use WhatsApp, so they do not need to install anything. If you are comparing options, the guide to van fleet GPS tracking lists the questions to ask any provider.

And remember that GPS is not only about control: it also helps you keep an eye on mileage and renewal dates, such as when each van's ITV inspection is due (the ITV is Spain's compulsory roadworthiness test, similar to the UK MOT).

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the employee's consent to fit a GPS tracker?

For monitoring during working hours, no: under article 90 of the LOPDGDD it is enough to inform them beforehand, expressly, clearly and unambiguously. To process data from outside working hours you would need their express consent, according to the AEPD.

Can I fit a GPS without telling anyone?

No. A tracker hidden from staff breaches the duty to inform, and the data might not be usable as evidence. Physically hiding the device (so a thief cannot find it) is different: what cannot be hidden is the fact that it exists.

Is GPS data valid evidence for a dismissal in Spain?

It can be, as in the 2020 Supreme Court ruling, if you informed staff beforehand and there was a known use policy. Before relying on it in a dismissal, speak to an employment lawyer.

What if the employee uses their own car?

That is a different and more delicate case: the vehicle is theirs and the expectation of privacy is higher. Do not install anything in a private vehicle without taking advice first.

Is a GPS worth it if I do not use it to monitor anyone?

Yes. Many companies use it mainly to know where each vehicle is, recover it if it is taken and have the real mileage for maintenance. Even so, if an employee drives it, you still have to inform them.