From 1 January 2027, companies will have to set up a system that allows employees to record how many hours they have worked, although this does not have to be the traditional time clock. This was decided this week in the margins of the budget discussions.
Over the coming year, companies will have to consider how to record the number of hours their employees work, either via a time clock or more flexible digital systems. This was decided by the government during Monday’s budget agreement, according to De Tijd.
The decision comes against the backdrop of a European directive on working hours, which has been the subject of wrangling for years. In 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled in a Spanish case that European rules on working hours are only enforceable if those working hours are first measured.
But as Pieter De Koster, lawyer at Bird & Bird LLP, states in De Tijd: “There is no European legislation that imposes time registration.” The concept of working time registration is included in the federal coalition agreement of early 2025 to regulate flexible working. Much ado about nothing?
