For many companies, fleet vehicles are no longer used exclusively during working hours. Depending on the organization’s policy and the benefits offered to employees, a company car can also be used for personal purposes. Especially during the summer holiday season, situations in which employees choose to travel using the vehicle provided by the company are becoming increasingly common.

This flexibility can represent an important advantage for employees and a competitive benefit for the company. At the same time, the mixed use of vehicles – professional and personal – raises a number of questions related to monitoring, privacy, and the clear distinction between activities carried out for business purposes and private journeys.

For companies that use GPS fleet monitoring solutions, the challenge is even more evident. How can the organization retain the tools needed for efficient vehicle management without tracking employees’ personal journeys?

A solution such as Private driving from TrackGPS can provide the answer. It allows for a clearer separation between professional and personal vehicle use.

Company car – from a work tool to an employee benefit

In the past, company vehicles were mainly associated with professional activities. Sales representatives, managers, technicians, or employees who needed to travel frequently between different locations were provided with a car to perform their work-related duties. Today, things are more flexible. In many organizations, the possibility of using a company car for personal purposes is part of the benefits package offered to employees.

For employees, the advantages are clear. They can avoid the cost of purchasing a personal vehicle, while day-to-day travel becomes easier. Depending on the company’s policy, the vehicle may also be used on weekends, during holidays, or for longer trips. For example, an employee going on a one-week holiday may prefer to use the company car instead of their personal vehicle. If the internal policy allows this, the decision is a natural one. The vehicle is already available, the employee is familiar with it and, in most cases, is accustomed to driving it.

From the company’s perspective, however, new responsibilities arise. The vehicle remains an asset of the organization, and the fleet manager must be able to manage information such as mileage, overall vehicle usage, or the costs associated with it. At the same time, a journey made by an employee while on holiday no longer represents a professional activity. This is where the need for a clear distinction arises.

What happens when the company car is monitored via GPS?

Fleet management solutions have become essential tools for companies operating a large number of vehicles. With their help, fleet managers can gain better visibility into how the fleet is being used and make data-driven decisions.

At the same time, the use of these systems also involves a major responsibility regarding the protection of personal data. Under GDPR regulations, companies are required to collect and process only the data that is strictly necessary for the stated legitimate purpose. In addition, they must transparently inform employees about monitoring and ensure the security of the information collected. In the case of company vehicles, this becomes even more important, as location data may reveal personal behavior, and its use must be limited to professional purposes or purposes clearly defined through internal policies. The situation therefore changes when the company car is used outside professional activities.

Let us assume that an employee is allowed to use the company vehicle while on holiday. On a day off, the employee leaves home, drives to a guesthouse, stops at a restaurant, visits a tourist attraction, and then travels to another town. From the company’s perspective, none of these journeys is relevant to professional activity. For the employee, however, they are part of their personal life.

If the monitoring system continues to record and display these routes in the same way as professional journeys, employees may feel that the benefit of using the company car comes with permanent monitoring. For this reason, companies need mechanisms that make it possible to distinguish between different types of journeys.

What does Private driving mean?

The Private driving mode functionality is designed specifically for situations in which the same vehicle is used both for professional activities and for personal journeys.

Thus, when an employee finishes work and starts a personal journey, they can switch to private mode quickly and easily. This is done through the mobile application in order to mark the change in the type of vehicle use.

Through a dedicated private driving solution, the company can continue to use TrackGPS technology for fleet management, while personal journeys are treated separately from professional ones.

Respecting privacy can increase employee trust

Vehicle monitoring can be perceived differently by employees. In a professional context, they may understand the need to use a GPS solution. The company needs to manage its vehicles, optimize operations, and monitor how its resources are being used. During personal time, however, the perspective changes.

A transparent policy, supported by a functionality such as Private driving, sends an important message: the company distinguishes between professional activities and personal life. For employees, this separation can help increase trust in the organization and in the technological systems it uses.

Instead of GPS monitoring being perceived exclusively as a control tool, it can be understood for what it should be: a tool for efficient fleet management.

Internal policies and technology must work together

The mere existence of a private driving functionality is not enough. Companies must also define clear rules regarding vehicle use. Employees should know when they are allowed to use the company car for personal purposes, what responsibilities they have during these journeys, and how private mode should be used.

For example, the internal policy may explain whether the vehicle can be used:
• outside working hours;
• on weekends;
• during holidays;
• for journeys abroad;
• by people other than the employee to whom it has been assigned.

In addition, rules must be established regarding the costs associated with personal journeys, such as fuel, road tolls, or parking. Technology therefore becomes a tool that supports the organization’s policy rather than replacing it. The more transparent the rules are, the fewer unclear situations there will be between employees, the human resources department, and the fleet manager.

For companies, distinguishing between professional and personal use of a vehicle is a way to manage the fleet in a modern and responsible manner. For employees, it is confirmation that the flexibility offered by using a company vehicle can go hand in hand with respect for privacy. And when technology succeeds in supporting both objectives, the personal use of company cars can remain what it should be: a benefit for the employee without becoming a challenge for fleet management. Contact us now to activate the Private driving functionality!