Clocking in with geolocation: what Spanish data protection law allows and how to do it without a penalty

When clocking in is done from a phone, the question comes by itself: may the company know where each person clocks in from? The legal answer is yes, with conditions, and the difference between a correct geolocated clock-in and a fine from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) lies in the details: what is captured, when, for what, who knows and what is done with it. This guide explains what article 90 of the LOPDGDD allows, how the AEPD interprets it, what remote work requires and how to configure geolocated clock-in so that it is proportionate, transparent and useful.

The legal basis: article 90 of the LOPDGDD and article 20.3 of the Workers’ Statute

Article 20.3 of the Workers’ Statute allows the employer to adopt the surveillance and control measures it deems appropriate to verify compliance with employment obligations, respecting the worker’s dignity. Article 90 of Organic Law 3/2018 specifies that power for geolocation:

• Employers may process data obtained through geolocation systems to exercise the control functions of article 20.3, within its legal framework and with the limits inherent to it.
• Beforehand, the employer must inform workers expressly, clearly and unequivocally and, where applicable, their representatives, about the existence and characteristics of the devices, and also about the possible exercise of the rights of access, rectification, restriction and erasure.

In other words: the law does not require the worker’s consent, because the legal basis is the employer’s legitimate interest in labour control, but it does require prior information, a labour-control purpose and limits. Those limits are set by the GDPR with its principles of minimisation, purpose limitation and proportionality, and by the AEPD in its decisions.

What the AEPD considers proportionate

From the Agency’s decisions and guidance on employee geolocation, clear criteria emerge:

• A specific purpose: checking the place from which a person clocks in or their presence at the site or assigned post is a legitimate purpose; knowing the person’s movements throughout the day is not, except in activities where travel is the work (fleets, routes, home services) and with their own safeguards.
• Only during working time: geolocation outside working hours, during rest or on holiday is unlawful. A system that tracks outside the timetable violates privacy and digital disconnection.
• Point capture versus continuous tracking: recording the position at the moment of clocking in is proportionate to verify presence; continuous location tracking requires far greater justification and rarely has it in office jobs.
• Minimisation: if it is enough to know the person is at the site, exact coordinates need not be stored; checking that the clock-in is within the site’s perimeter meets the purpose with less data.
• Personal devices: if clocking in is done from the worker’s own phone, the app must be strictly limited to clocking in, may not access other device data, and the company may not demand permanently active geolocation. The device-use policy under article 87 of the LOPDGDD must cover it.
• Information and transparency: a specific information clause, a published clock-in policy, information to the representatives and responses to access and erasure requests.
• Impact assessment: where geolocation involves systematic observation of workers, the data protection impact assessment of article 35 GDPR is required; for a point clock-in, at least a documented risk analysis is advisable.
• Limited retention: the clock-in location is kept for as long as necessary for the purpose and for the working-time record, with restricted access.

Remote work: the most delicate case

In remote work the worker’s home is their private space, and Law 10/2021 expressly prohibits control measures that violate privacy. Geolocating a remote worker to check they are at home is, as a general rule, disproportionate: the working-time record is met by clocking in via the app without location, and activity is proven by the work, not by position. If geolocation is used in remote work, it must be optional, informed and limited to clocking in, and the remote-work agreement must cover it, as we explain in remote work in Spain: obligations.

How to configure a compliant geolocated clock-in

1. Define the purpose in writing: verifying the site or place of work at the moment of clocking in, nothing more.
2. Choose the minimum data level: perimeter check per site instead of exact coordinates where sufficient; if coordinates are stored, only those at the instant of clocking in.
3. Only when clocking in and only during working hours: the app records no location at any other time, and documents it.
4. Inform before activating: an information clause for each worker, communication to the representatives, updated clock-in and device policies, and a record of the information given.
5. Exclude or make optional for remote work, and do not require geolocation on personal devices outside the act of clocking in.
6. Impact assessment or documented risk analysis, according to scope.
7. Restricted access and limited retention: who sees the location, for what and for how long.
8. An alternative: provide for how someone who cannot or does not want to enable location on a personal device clocks in (site tablet, web, card), with no detriment to the person.
9. Periodic review and an updated record of processing activities.

What the AEPD and the Inspectorate penalise

• Geolocating without express prior information, or doing so outside working hours, or with disproportionate continuous tracking, are GDPR infringements the AEPD penalises with fines that, for infringements for lack of legal basis or information, can be very high, plus an order to cease processing.
• Not informing the workers’ representatives breaches article 90 and article 64 of the Statute on the right to information and consultation on labour control.
• Using location for purposes other than labour control (for example, disciplinary action for what the person did outside work) makes the processing unlawful and the evidence inadmissible.
• And the other side: an unreliable working-time record is no use either. Clocking in from a phone is legal and sufficient, as we explain in clocking in from your phone: is it legal?; geolocation is an add-on for specific cases, not a requirement.

When it makes sense and when it does not

It makes sense on construction sites, home services, field maintenance, cleaning across several sites, retail with several shops: wherever the company needs to know at which site or client the service was provided, and clocking in on location proves working time and allows hours to be allocated per site or client.

It does not make sense in single-site offices, where web or tablet clock-in already proves presence, or in remote work, where the location is the home. Enabling geolocation “just in case” is the mistake that has produced the most AEPD decisions.

How LapsoWork does it

In LapsoWork’s time tracking software, geolocation is an option the company enables when it needs it: it is captured only at the moment of clocking in, there is never continuous tracking, and in the remote work module it is optional. Each clock-in carries timestamping and traceability, and reports export in audited PDF and CSV. The information clause and the clock-in policy are published in the document manager with each person’s signed receipt. From €2 per employee per month.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to clock in with geolocation in Spain?

Yes, with conditions. Article 90 of the LOPDGDD allows processing geolocation data for the labour control of article 20.3 of the Workers’ Statute, provided workers and their representatives are informed expressly, clearly and beforehand, with a specific purpose, during working time and proportionately. The worker’s consent is not needed, but prior information and the GDPR limits are.

Can the company track the worker’s location throughout the working day?

Only when travel is the work (fleets, routes, services) and with its own safeguards. To verify presence it is enough to record location at the moment of clocking in; continuous tracking in jobs that do not require it is disproportionate and the AEPD penalises it. Outside working hours, never.

Can the company require geolocation on the worker’s personal phone?

It may ask the clock-in app to capture location at the act of clocking in, with prior information and without accessing other device data, but it may not demand permanently active location or outside clocking in, and it must offer an alternative to anyone who does not want to use their personal device.

Can remote workers be geolocated?

As a general rule it is not proportionate: the home is private space, Law 10/2021 prohibits controls that violate privacy and the working-time record is met by clocking in without location. If used, it must be optional, informed, limited to clocking in and included in the remote-work agreement.

Is an impact assessment required to clock in with geolocation?

It is required where geolocation involves systematic observation of workers. For a point clock-in, a documented risk analysis, the information clause, an updated record of processing activities and limits on access and retention are advisable.

Conclusion

Clocking in with geolocation is legal when you inform beforehand, capture only at the moment of clocking in and during working time, limit it to what is needed to verify the place of work, exclude it or make it optional for remote work and document the risk analysis. Enabling it by default or tracking outside working hours is the shortest route to an AEPD fine. If your teams work across several sites or on the road and you want a compliant location-based clock-in, try LapsoWork free for 30 days.