Geofence
A geofence is a virtual boundary around a physical place, defined by coordinates and a radius. In time reporting it is used to check that a clock-in or clock-out really happened at the workplace.
Updated
- Category
Agreements and technology
- Also known as
geographic boundary · positionsgräns
- Sources
GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten, guidance on monitoring in working life
The technique has two practical limits worth knowing before switching it on.
The first is accuracy. GPS works less well indoors, in dense urban areas and in basements, which produces false rejections if the radius is set tightly. A radius that works on a building site is often too tight in a shopping centre.
The second is privacy. Reading a position at a clock-in is processing of personal data and requires a clear purpose and information to employees. Continuous tracking through the working day is a different thing entirely, and Timply is not built to do it.
A geofence that clocks somebody in automatically on arrival does not exist in Timply. The employee clocks in themselves.
How Timply handles it
In Timply Pro you set up workplaces with an address and a permitted radius, and can require the position to be validated at clock-in. The position is read at the clock-in and not in between, so no member of staff is tracked during the working day.
Related terms
Payroll time code
A payroll time code says what kind of time an entry represents, for example hours worked, an unsocial hours premium, overtime or a particular reason for absence. In PAXml the field is called tidkodTYPE, and the code decides how the payroll system treats the hours.
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