A new application from Manchester-based tracking services company Crystal Ball allows employers to ensure that staff being continually out on the road or having time out the office is no longer an excuse for lazy days.

The system, part of Crystal Ball’s range of mobile and vehicle black box tracking solutions, requires employees to clock on and off using the touch screen on their mobile phone.

It feeds back live information, recording speed, journey time, distance and precise location through employees' mobile phones.

It also monitors incoming and outgoing mobile phone calls and the use of hands-free kits as well as allowing employers to see all text messages through a web-based system.

Through a series of prompts and acknowledgements similar to those on an in-car satnav, the new system asks employees to confirm that they have complied with both the law and company policy and, for example, that they have:

• Not received any endorsements since last driving their company car
• Ensured all the vehicle’s tyres are correctly inflated and have the required tread
• Complied with road safety regulations such as ensuring the vehicle has working headlights and windscreen wash

In addition, if two employees are in the vehicle, the Crystal Ball system allows them to notify their employer who is driving.

Employers can also monitor the information in real time via their computer screen and it can be accessed anytime and anywhere in the world. At the end of the working day, the employee can activate a privacy button to stop recording worker movements.

The system has been developed to help businesses locate and monitor workers out in the field as part of companies’ duty of care obligations and other important legislation such as the Working Time Directive and Corporate Manslaughter.