Preparing for time registration of all employees from 1 July 2024

The first steps towards a balanced working environment

The Danish Working Hours Act (arbejdstidsloven) has undergone significant changes in response to an EU ruling from May 2019. The ruling requires European businesses to record all employees' working hours accurately. Behind this change lies the aim of promoting fairer and more transparent working practices and safeguarding workers' rights, with a focus on rest periods and working hours. These measures are designed to create a more balanced working environment and strengthen the protection of employees' welfare and employment rights.

What do the new requirements involve?

From 1 July 2024, all Danish employers must have a reliable and accessible time registration system in place. The system must be able to record and document all employees' working hours. Businesses must ensure that time registration is accurate and comprehensive, as it will be used to ensure compliance with the legal requirements on maximum working hours, rest periods and breaks. Time registration is also expected to help minimise the risk of disputes between employers and employees by creating clear, documented records of working hours.

Under the new requirements, employees are entitled to at least 11 consecutive hours of rest within a 24-hour period and one weekly day off. A limit of 48 working hours per week has also been set.

What are the requirements for storage and accessibility?

Businesses are expected to implement secure and easily accessible systems for storing time records, so that employees can easily access their own information. This not only supports legal compliance but also creates transparency and trust in the working environment. These records must be kept for at least five years, as required by the Data Protection Act. This not only ensures that businesses comply with the law but also makes it possible to track and analyse how working hours develop over time, which can be valuable for both the business and its employees.

Are all employees covered?

Although the new time registration requirements apply to all employees, there are certain exceptions to consider. These typically include directors, managers and employees whose working hours are difficult to predict because of the nature of their work. It is crucial to understand that these exceptions must be well-founded and in line with current law to avoid misunderstandings or disputes. It is important for businesses to handle exceptions carefully and transparently to ensure fair and lawful working practices for all employees.

Changes to the employment contract

It is crucial that the employment contract, or an addendum to it, contains a clear and precise definition of the employee's role as "self-organising" (selvtilrettelægger), who is therefore exempt from the time registration rules and from the provisions of the Working Hours Act on breaks, maximum weekly working hours and night work. Without such a definition, the employee is automatically subject to the general rules like other employees. To avoid any legal or operational discrepancies in the future, it is essential to make sure that this definition is clear and precise in the contract or addendum.

Sanctions

If the maximum weekly working time of 48 hours is not respected, employees may be entitled to individual compensation. If the rest period rules in the Working Hours Act are not respected, the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet) can impose fines and issue orders on employers. With the new rules on recording daily working hours, the burden of proving breaches of the rules on maximum weekly working hours, breaks and rest periods can be expected to become lighter for employees, trade unions, the Danish Working Environment Authority and other authorities. If employers fail to record daily working hours in accordance with the rules, this can have serious consequences under the bill, which is expected to have a significant impact on employers.

Employers: you need to be ready!

Based on the above, employers face a major task if they have not already started implementing the new requirements. At Summ, we are ready to guide you through the complexity these changes may bring to your business.