The New EU Time Tracking Directive
It is essential to understand that this new time arrangement has context and that there are many things you need to consider as a business with EU employers.
It is crucial to have a little background on when this event happened, why it happened, and its result. There are plenty of great reasons why an exact time tracking directive can be helpful for businesses, and it is also essential to look at how this legal obligation came to be.
When Did It Happen?
This national legislation came into effect on May 14th, 2019. That day, the European Court of Justice made its ruling and passed minimum standards time tracking laws for businesses across the EU.
This practical application is still relatively new.
There are still countries in the EU that are in the process of phasing in the new daily working hours. Of course, events such as COVID-19 and the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union have muddied the waters slightly.
Why Did It Happen?
This statutory obligation seems to have stemmed from a legal claim brought by the Spanish workers union CCOO against Deutsche Bank SAE.
The union sought a declaration from the Spanish High Court that the bank was obliged to keep records of the daily working times of all employees. The bank had a system in place to record overtime, absences, and sick leave, but nothing to track daily and weekly working hours.
The goal was to ensure that fundamental worker rights were being met and that employees were getting the weekly rest they deserved. What was the result?
The Spanish High Court asked the ECJ whether existing laws required employers to record daily working hours. After deliberation, the ECJ came to the decision that Member States should now be required to ensure that businesses set up reliable and objective procedures to measure the daily working time of employees.
What Was The Result?
The Spanish High Court asked the ECJ whether existing laws required employers to record daily working hours. After much deliberation, the ECJ came to the decision that Member States should now be required to ensure that businesses set up reliable and objective procedures to measure the daily working employee time.
Consequences of Not Time Tracking
This pragmatic approach to time tracking has been greeted positively by some but negatively by others.
However, there is no doubting the fact that there are consequences in choosing not to time track and a direct impact on both employers and employees. Now, of course, businesses who elect not to implement this 21st-century ruling will be subject to punishments by law, often in the form of fines.