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BIE Field Personnel App Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5th October 2026

1. Who we are and who is responsible

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is used through the BIE Field Personnel App (“the App”). For UK deployment, B.I.E. International Ltd is the lead BIE organisation responsible for this privacy information. Where another BIE Group legal entity engages you and acts as controller or joint controller, BIE will identify that organisation in your contractor agreement, assignment information or applicable local privacy information before the App is used.

B.I.E. International Ltd
Chatsworth Technology Park
Dunston Road
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S41 8XA
United Kingdom

Privacy Contact: Paul Wass
Email: paul.wass@biegroup.com

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to authorised adult inspectors engaged by BIE as contractors or subcontractors to carry out BIE assignments. It should be read together with your applicable contractor agreement, assignment instructions, acceptable-use terms and any country-specific privacy information provided by BIE.

3. Information we use

Depending on the functions you use, BIE may process the following information.

Identity and account information
Your name, business email address or UPN, Microsoft Entra identifier, inspector reference, role and BIE office.

Assignment information
Assignment or work-order number, vendor or site, visit/work status and relevant assignment information.

Attendance and working-time information
Clock-in and clock-out times, break events, session status and relevant clock-out reasons.

Clock-out reasons may identify whether a session ended by:

  • manual clock-out;
  • automatic geofence exit;
  • the 10-hour welfare timeout; or
  • authorised administrative closure.

Online Timesheet and expense information
Where applicable, work, travel and reporting hours, timesheet information, expenses and supporting information entered through BIE systems.

Periodic site-verification information
A result of Yes, No or Unable to verify, together with the verification time and the minimum session and assignment references required to maintain the record.

Where a valid geofence check results in an automatic clock-out, the resulting session closure and clock-out reason are also recorded.

Location-related information
The assigned vendor/site coordinates and your device location used temporarily to perform the local geofence comparison.

Technical and security information
Limited authentication, session, security, diagnostic and performance information necessary to operate and protect the App.

4. How location and geofence verification work

The App uses location information to confirm attendance at the assigned worksite. When you clock in, your device checks whether you are within the permitted area for the selected site. While you remain clocked in to an active work session, the App may also receive updated location information in the background in accordance with the location and background-processing behaviour of your device’s operating system.

The timing and frequency of background location updates are controlled by iOS or Android and may vary depending on factors such as:

  • device settings;
  • operating-system behaviour;
  • battery optimisation;
  • signal availability;
  • location-service availability; and
  • whether the operating system permits background processing at that time.

The App does not rely on a fixed background polling interval controlled solely by BIE. When an updated location is available, the App compares it locally with the permitted geofence for the assigned site. Your precise GPS coordinates are not transmitted to or retained by BIE as part of the site-verification process.

Instead, BIE receives the result:

Yes / No / Unable to verify

together with the verification time and the minimum session, assignment and identity information required to support the record. BIE does not use this functionality to create a continuous route or precise GPS history of your movements.

5. Automatic geofence clock-out

Where a valid location update confirms that your device has left the permitted site geofence during an active work session, the App may automatically close your clocking session. The resulting record will identify that the session ended because of a geofence exit.

An automatic geofence clock-out is an operational attendance record. It is not, by itself, treated as proof of misconduct, unauthorised absence or another contractual breach.

If a geofence clock-out appears to be incorrect, for example because of GPS accuracy, connectivity, device behaviour or a site-location issue, the record can be reviewed and corrected where appropriate.

6. When background location processing starts and stops

Background location processing is linked to an active clocked-in work session. It is not intended to operate: 

  • before you clock in;
  • after your active work session ends;
  • during personal time outside an active session;
  • for advertising or marketing; or
  • to monitor your private activities.

Background site-verification activity ends when the active work session ends. A session may end through:

  • manual clock-out;
  • automatic geofence exit;
  • the 10-hour welfare timeout; or
  • authorised administrative closure.

Because background processing is governed partly by iOS and Android, the exact timing of individual location updates may vary between devices and operating-system states.

7. Breaks and working time

The App supports BIE’s contractor welfare arrangements by recording work sessions and breaks. When you start a break, your active work session ends.

When you return from a break, the App may check that you are within the permitted site area before starting a new work session. BIE also operates an internal 10-hour working-time welfare limit, excluding travel time. Where an active work session reaches 10 hours, the App may automatically close that session.

Inspectors may remain on site for longer where necessary, subject to authorisation by the appropriate BIE office.

8. Why we use your information

BIE uses information processed through the App to:

  • confirm safe arrival and continued presence at an assigned worksite;
  • maintain accurate contractor attendance and work-session records;
  • record or verify breaks;
  • support contractor welfare arrangements;
  • apply BIE’s internal 10-hour working-time control;
  • maintain accurate assignment, client, quality and audit records;
  • investigate genuine discrepancies or complaints;
  • support contractual and client requirements;
  • protect the integrity and security of the App and BIE systems; and
  • establish, exercise or defend legal or contractual claims where necessary.

9. Our lawful basis

For the core attendance, site-presence, break and internal working-time functions, BIE generally relies on its legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR. Those interests include:

  • safe and effective field operations;
  • contractor welfare;
  • maintaining accurate authorised-work records;
  • client and quality assurance; and
  • protecting BIE and contractors against inaccurate attendance records.

BIE has completed a Legitimate Interests Assessment and selected a design that performs the geofence comparison locally rather than routinely transmitting or retaining precise contractor GPS history. The location permission requested by your phone is a technical device permission. Granting that technical permission does not, by itself, mean that BIE relies on consent as its GDPR lawful basis.

Where another lawful basis applies to a particular activity, BIE will use that basis where appropriate.

10. What happens if location cannot be verified?

GPS and device location are not always exact. Location accuracy and availability can be affected by factors including:

  • buildings and indoor working environments;
  • GPS availability;
  • device hardware;
  • connectivity;
  • operating-system behaviour;
  • battery-saving settings;
  • location permissions; and
  • technical faults.

If the App cannot reliably complete a verification, it may record Unable to verify rather than assuming that you have left the worksite. A failed or unavailable verification will not automatically be treated as absence.

11. Automated actions and human review

Some operational actions within the App can happen automatically. For example:

  • a valid geofence exit may automatically close an active work session; and
  • an active work session may automatically close when the 10-hour welfare limit is reached.

These operational actions are not intended to constitute solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

A No, Unable to verify, missed verification, automatic geofence clock-out or other clocking anomaly must not, by itself, automatically result in:

  • non-payment;
  • termination of a contractor relationship;
  • exclusion from future assignments; or
  • another significant adverse contractual outcome.

Before any such consequential decision is made, an authorised person should consider the relevant circumstances, which may include:

  • GPS accuracy;
  • device or operating-system behaviour;
  • connectivity;
  • changes to the worksite; and
  • any explanation provided by the contractor.

Disputed or inaccurate records can be reviewed and corrected where appropriate.

12. Who can access your information

Access is restricted according to role and business need. Attendance and site-verification records may be accessible to authorised:

  • BIE coordinators or supervisors;
  • operational administrators;
  • quality or compliance personnel;
  • legal or information-security personnel; and
  • personnel dealing with a specific client query, audit, complaint, investigation or legal matter.

Relevant attendance evidence may be shared with a client where reasonably necessary to confirm contracted work or resolve a specific issue. Clients are not provided with unrestricted access to a contractor’s location or movement history.

13. Service providers and international transfers

Microsoft provides services used by the App and BIE environment, including identity, cloud hosting, database, storage and monitoring services. Some Microsoft cloud services used by BIE may process personal information outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, including in the United States.

Where an international transfer occurs, BIE uses an applicable lawful transfer mechanism and maintains appropriate supporting evidence. Any additional mapping, location, analytics or similar provider that receives personal information must be assessed before production use.

GitHub is used for source control and deployment and is not intended to receive routine contractor work-session information.

14. How long we keep information

Ordinary contractor clocking, work-session and periodic site-verification records are normally retained for:

the duration of the contractor’s engagement plus one year.

Information may be retained for longer where reasonably necessary in connection with:

  • a legal or contractual dispute;
  • a complaint or investigation;
  • insurance requirements;
  • regulatory requirements; or
  • the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Records genuinely required as financial evidence may be retained in accordance with BIE’s seven-year financial-record retention requirement. Security and diagnostic telemetry should be retained for a shorter operational period where appropriate.

15. Security

BIE uses technical and organisational measures appropriate to the risks associated with the App. These include measures such as:

  • Microsoft authentication;
  • multi-factor authentication for production access;
  • role-based access controls;
  • encrypted communications;
  • managed identities;
  • auditing and logging;
  • controlled development and deployment;
  • account removal when an engagement ends;
  • incident-response procedures; and
  • retention controls.

For site verification, BIE additionally limits background location processing to active work sessions and uses a status-only design rather than routinely transmitting exact contractor GPS coordinates to BIE systems. Session closure events are recorded with a clock-out reason so that manual, geofence-exit, 10-hour timeout and authorised administrative closures can be distinguished and audited.

16. Your privacy rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights to:

  • access your personal information;
  • correct inaccurate information;
  • request deletion or restriction of processing;
  • object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • request portability where the legal conditions apply; and
  • receive information about applicable international transfers.

To exercise your rights, contact:

paul.wass@biegroup.com

BIE may request proportionate information to verify your identity before responding to a request.

17. Questions, objections and complaints

If you believe that an attendance, location-verification or clocking record is inaccurate, or you have concerns about how the App processes your information, please contact BIE using the details above. You may also object to processing based on legitimate interests where the law gives you that right. BIE will consider the circumstances and whether compelling legitimate grounds justify continued processing.

You can raise a data-protection complaint with the BIE Privacy Contact. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK, or the relevant supervisory authority where EU GDPR applies. Contacting BIE first does not remove your right to contact a supervisory authority.

18. Changes to this policy

BIE will review this policy where there is a material change to:

  • the App;
  • the purposes for which information is used;
  • background-location or geofence behaviour;
  • service providers;
  • international-transfer arrangements;
  • retention periods;
  • the contractor operating model; or
  • applicable legal requirements.

Where monitoring changes materially, BIE will update the relevant privacy information and bring the change to affected contractors’ attention before the changed processing begins.

19. Children

The App is intended only for authorised adult field personnel. It is not intended for use by children, and BIE does not knowingly use the App to collect location information from children.

20. Advertising and third party tracking

Personal information collected through the App is not used for: 

    • behavioural advertising;
    • targeted advertising;
    • sale to data brokers;
    • advertising measurement;
    • marketing profiles unrelated to BIE work;
    • tracking users across third-party applications or websites; or
    • unrelated commercial profiling.

BIE does not sell location information. For the purposes of this policy, recording location during a clocked-in assignment is operational workplace location monitoring. It is not used for cross-app advertising tracking.

21. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy where: 

  • the App or its features change;
  • our processing practices change;
  • service providers change;
  • applicable legal requirements change; or
  • additional information is required to explain our privacy practices.

The latest version will be published on the BIE Group website and made accessible from within the App. Where a change materially affects how location or other personal information is processed, we will provide an appropriate additional notice. The date at the beginning of this policy shows when it was last updated. 

22. Contact Us

Questions about this policy or the App’s use of personal information should be sent to:

Organisation: B.I.E. International Ltd
Privacy contact or Data Protection Officer: Paul Wass
Email:  paul.wass@biegroup.com
Telephone: +44 1246 260260
Postal address: Chatsworth Technology Park, Dunston Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8XA. United Kingdom