A case between a Spanish trade union and Deutsche Bank could affect the Danish labour market. The European Court of Justice's decision in the case means that European employers can now be required to use a time recording system.
On 14 May 2019, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling that could have a major impact on employers across Europe - including Danish employers.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in a case between the Spanish employees' organisation, Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras, and Deutsche Bank SAE. The case centred on the bank's failure to set up a system to record the daily working hours of its employees.
In that case, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU Working Time Directive obliges employers to establish a system to record employees' daily effective working hours. This must be done so that it is possible to check whether the rules on working time - such as the 11-hour rule and the 48-hour rule - are being complied with.
The EU Working Time Directive does not provide a concrete framework for how individual Member States should comply with the directive's rules.
However, the CJEU ruled that member states must oblige employers to establish an ”objective, reliable and accessible system that makes it possible to measure the length of each worker's daily working hours”.
The European Court of Justice ruled that employers in EU member states must establish some form of time recording system to help ensure compliance with the rules. In addition, it was also part of the decision that the system must be accessible to employee representatives and the labour inspectorate so that they can monitor compliance with working time rules. Among other things, the decision was made for the sake of employee health and safety, according to the decision.
What's next?
It is likely that many Danish employers are anxious to see what the decision will mean for them.
It will be up to each EU member state to decide how to record employees” working time. The decision does not say anything more specific about the ”objective, reliable and accessible system" that member states must ensure that all employers use. This means that member states are left to define that part themselves.
This is why there will apparently soon be a meeting between the government and the Confederation of Danish Employers and the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions.
At that meeting, they will probably discuss what such a system would entail in Denmark and how it would work in practice - both for employers and employees.
The decision is likely to have an impact on Danish employers, but until the government has looked into the matter, it is unclear how it will affect them and what employers should actually do in the future.
All that is known is that Danish employers will probably have to start using a system that makes it possible to register employees' working hours so that it is also accessible to employee representatives and labour inspectors.
Why is a time tracking system a good idea?
We do not believe that the ruling from the European Court of Justice should be seen as another ankle bracelet for Danish employers. At Intempus, we have seen time and time again how employers benefit from implementing a time tracking system.
Employers often save time when they switch to a digital time tracking system. Often, inefficient IT systems or outdated paper systems are replaced with a much more usable system.
And the time saved can be spent by the employee and/or employer on the tasks that really matter to the organisation.
It also provides the overview you need as an employer to keep track of your organisation's compliance with all the working time regulations that are so important to adhere to.
But of course, it's all about what the content of said ”system” will be. It is important that time tracking systems are flexible, intuitive and easy to use if they are to be implemented successfully.
It will be interesting to see what the framework of the system will be. For example, whether auto-registration can be used so that employees only have to register when there are deviations from the norm, whether employees have to register working hours every day, or whether it will be a completely different system.
If you're curious about how a digital time tracking system like Intempus can make life easier for your organisation, you can try designing your own time tracking solution here:
You are also welcome to give us a call at: +45 26390400
