Simplified recording of working time

Full registration of working time

The employer is obliged to look after the health of his/her employees and to prevent occupational accidents. To this end, he or she must ensure that his/her employees enjoy the mandatory rest periods and breaks and that they compensate for the overtime work performed. Failure to do so may result in liability in case of accident or burnout.

For this reason, the Labor Act requires the employer to monitor the working time of employees and to record it systematically and completely. This obligation is extensive and concerns, among other things, working hours, rest periods, breaks and overtime work.

Issue

The authorities have realized that employers often do not respect their obligations for certain categories of employees.

In particular, managers in companies tended not to register their working hours.

As a result of this discrepancy between law and practice, legal provisions were adopted to simplify matters.

Simplified registration

Simplified registration of working time allows the employer to register only the actual daily working time, unless the employee works at night or on Sunday. This saves the employer from recording all other data, which is a significant administrative relief.

Conditions

Simplified registration is only permitted for a certain category of employees. They must comply with a number of requirements that are intended to prevent abuse.

If the employer alone decides on the employee's working hours or if the employee has fixed working hours, a simplification of the registration of working hours is not justified. The employer will still be obliged to register his working time in full.