diff --git a/includes/ProgressTableProcessor.php b/includes/ProgressTableProcessor.php
index 96ee2a0..348117e 100644
--- a/includes/ProgressTableProcessor.php
+++ b/includes/ProgressTableProcessor.php
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ private function validateDataRowIds(): bool {
 		foreach ( $dataRows as $row ) {
 			$rowId = $this->extractDataRowId( $row );
 			if ( empty( $rowId ) ) {
-				$this->errorMessage = 'When unique-column-index is not provided, 
+				$this->errorMessage = 'When unique-column-index is not provided,
 				all data rows must have a data-row-id attribute.';
 				return false;
 			}
@@ -348,6 +348,9 @@ private function addCheckboxCellToRow( DOMElement $row, int $rowIndex ): void {
 
 		$cell = $this->dom->createElement( 'td' );
 		$cell->setAttribute( 'class', self::CHECKBOX_CELL_CLASS );
+		// set the initial sortable value to 0 (does nothing if the table isn't sortable)
+		// when the JS runs, it will change this to 1 for tracked cells
+		$cell->setAttribute( 'data-sort-value', 0 );
 		$cell->appendChild( $checkboxDiv );
 
 		$row->insertBefore( $cell, $row->firstChild );
diff --git a/resources/index.js b/resources/index.js
index 82ac3ce..7bdefd4 100644
--- a/resources/index.js
+++ b/resources/index.js
@@ -152,8 +152,19 @@ var ProgressTracker = {
 				// remove the disable attribute from the checkbox so that it can be actioned
 				// this happens irrespective of whether the checkbox is checked or not
 				checkbox.disabled = false;
+
+				// if this row is tracked, change the sortable value to 1 to allow sorting
+				// (even if the table isn't sortable)
+				let sortVal = isChecked ? 1 : 0;
+				let $cell = $( checkbox ).closest( 'td' );
+
+				if ( $cell.length ) {
+					$cell.attr( 'data-sort-value', sortVal );
+					$cell.data( 'sortValue', sortVal );
+				}
 			}
 		}.bind( this ) );
+		$( table ).trigger('update');
 	},
 
 	/**