The short answer
Contractors can track their own employees at job sites lawfully by being open about it, limiting it to working time and having a clear reason, such as coordinating teams or confirming site attendance. Tracking self-employed subcontractors needs their agreement and should be limited to what the contract actually requires.
Implementing tracking for field workers and projects
- Define the purpose: scheduling, site attendance, lone-worker safety, client updates.
- Set up your sites as zones so arrivals and departures are logged automatically.
- Tell the team in a short written policy what is tracked, when and why.
- Limit it to working hours, especially if people use their own phones or vehicles.
Employees vs subcontractors
- Employees: the usual rules apply — a lawful basis (normally legitimate interests), transparency and proportionality. See is GPS tracking legal for UK businesses.
- Self-employed subcontractors: you have much less basis to monitor them. If you need proof of attendance, agree it in the contract and keep it to site attendance during the job.
How to track job sites legally
- Track people, not their private lives: tracking should stop at the end of the day.
- Keep records only as long as you need them for the job, payroll or disputes.
- Be ready to show staff their own data if they ask.
How TrackLink works for contractors
Create each site as a zone and TrackLink records arrivals and departures and can alert your Hub users. Your team switch tracking on at the start of the day from their Android phones and off at the end, and a notification shows while it runs.
Common questions
Can I track subcontractors with GPS?
Only with their agreement, and only as far as the contract needs — typically attendance at your sites during the job.
Can GPS tracking prove site attendance?
It gives strong evidence of arrival and departure times, typically to within a few metres outdoors.