Your monitoring vendor processes sensitive employee data on your behalf, and a data processing agreement is what makes that lawful and accountable. Skipping it is a compliance gap hiding in plain sight, because the vendor is handling your employees' personal data and, without a data processing agreement, nothing binds it to protect that data or defines who is responsible for what.

When you use an employee monitoring vendor, that vendor processes sensitive personal data about your staff on your behalf, and data-protection law requires a formal agreement governing how. A data processing agreement, or DPA, sets out each party responsibilities and is often a legal requirement, yet it is easy to overlook. This guide explains what a DPA is, why you need one with your monitoring vendor, what it must include, and how it fits vendor due diligence. The underlying point is that using a monitoring vendor makes it a processor of sensitive employee data on your behalf, so a compliant DPA is often legally required and is what converts trust in the vendor into enforceable, accountable commitments.

What a data processing agreement is

A data processing agreement is a contract that governs how a vendor processes personal data on your behalf. In data-protection terms, you are the controller who decides why data is processed, and the monitoring vendor is the processor who handles it under your instructions. The DPA sets the rules between you.

It is a core part of lawful data handling and of the wider data governance around monitoring. Because monitoring data is sensitive employee personal data, the relationship with the vendor that stores and processes it needs this formal footing.

Why you need one

Under GDPR and similar laws, a controller must have a written agreement with any processor handling personal data on its behalf, so a DPA with your monitoring vendor is often a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Operating without one is a compliance gap that can surface in an audit or after an incident.

Beyond the legal obligation, the DPA is what makes the vendor accountable for protecting your employees data. It converts trust in the vendor into enforceable commitments, connecting to the assurance sought through a vendor security assessment.

What a DPA must include

A compliant DPA sets out the subject matter and duration of processing, its nature and purpose, the types of data and categories of individuals, and the obligations of both parties. It must bind the processor to act only on your instructions, keep the data confidential, and secure it appropriately.

It should also cover the use of sub-processors, assistance with data-subject rights and breach notification, deletion or return of data at the end of the contract, and audit rights. These terms turn the general expectations of the GDPR guide into specific, enforceable duties.

The GDPR requirements

GDPR sets out specific mandatory contents for a processor agreement, and a DPA that omits them is non-compliant even if a contract exists. The processor must be bound to security measures, confidentiality, sub-processor controls, assistance with rights and breaches, and deletion or return of data, among other terms.

Because these requirements are precise, using a DPA that reflects them properly matters. A reputable monitoring vendor will offer a compliant DPA as standard, and confirming it meets the mandatory terms is part of the compliance checking covered in the legal guide.

eMonitor — DPA

Controller & Processor

GDPR

Ready DPA

SOC 2

Type II

Encrypted

Data

Deletion

On exit

DPA coverage

Security

Sub-processors

Breach

Rights

Deletion

Activity mix

Covered92%

In review6%

Action2%

▲ A compliant DPA made the vendor accountable for employee data.

Illustrative eMonitor dashboard.

DPAs and vendor due diligence

A DPA is one piece of proper vendor due diligence, alongside checking the vendor security posture and data-handling practices. Together they answer whether the vendor can be trusted with sensitive employee data, and the DPA makes the answer contractually binding.

This connects to related concerns like where the vendor stores data, the subject of data residency, and its certifications such as SOC 2. A DPA is the legal layer over the technical and organizational assurances, completing the due-diligence picture.

Who is responsible for what

The DPA clarifies the split of responsibility. As controller, you remain responsible for deciding what monitoring is lawful and proportionate, informing employees, and honoring their rights. The vendor, as processor, is responsible for handling the data securely and only as you instruct.

Understanding this split matters, because using a vendor does not transfer your controller obligations. You still own the decisions about the monitoring program, its transparency, and its legal basis, while the DPA ensures the vendor plays its processor part properly, supporting data security end to end.

Best practices

A few practices keep the vendor relationship compliant:

• Have a written DPA with any monitoring vendor processing personal data.
• Confirm it includes all mandatory GDPR processor terms.
• Check sub-processor controls and audit rights.
• Ensure it covers breach notification and rights assistance.
• Require deletion or return of data at contract end.
• Pair the DPA with a vendor security assessment.
• Confirm data residency and certifications.
• Remember you remain the controller with those obligations.

The overarching point is that a DPA is not paperwork for its own sake; it is the mechanism that makes a vendor accountable for the sensitive employee data it holds. Skipping or under-specifying it leaves both a legal gap and a real risk, because there is nothing binding the vendor to protect your people data properly.

It also clarifies that outsourcing the tool does not outsource the responsibility. You remain the controller, accountable for the lawfulness and transparency of the monitoring, so the DPA sits alongside your own obligations rather than replacing them, which is exactly why getting both right matters.

Getting started

Begin by confirming you have a DPA in place with every vendor that processes employee monitoring data, since this is easy to overlook and often legally required. If one is missing, obtaining a compliant DPA is a priority remediation.

Check that the DPA includes the mandatory processor terms, security, confidentiality, sub-processor controls, breach and rights assistance, and deletion or return, rather than assuming a generic contract suffices. A reputable vendor will provide a compliant DPA as standard.

Pair the DPA with wider due diligence, security assessment, data residency, and certifications, and remember you remain the controller. A monitoring program with a proper DPA and diligence behind it rests on a sound legal and security footing rather than an unexamined vendor relationship.

A compliant vendor relationship with eMonitor

eMonitor is built for a compliant controller-processor relationship, with a GDPR-ready data processing agreement, SOC 2 Type II certification, encryption, clear data-handling practices, and disclosed data residency. Trusted by 1,000+ companies worldwide and rated 4.8/5 on Capterra and G2.

At $3.90 to $13.90 per user with a 7-day free trial, it gives you a vendor whose DPA and certifications make the handling of your employees data accountable and defensible. A sound monitoring program starts with a sound agreement behind the tool.