Payroll and HR professionals might want to have a look at Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE C-55/18 which was all to do with the requirement in employers to protect the health and safety of their workers. This Spanish case considered the EU’s Working Time Directive in terms of:
- The organisation of working time
- Daily and weekly rest breaks
- Maximum weekly working time and
- The requirement to set up a system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker
The Spanish employer kept some records, such as when an employee was not working and on holiday but did not keep records of the hours actually worked. The trade union that bought the case to the CJEU argued that unless an employer recorded actual hours of work it was unable to confirm whether the Working Time Directive was being correctly applied in the domestic legislation that interpreted it in Spain.
In a “preliminary opinion” by the CJEU Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella, he said that employers EU-wide must record the number of hours where a worker has not specifically opted out of the 48 hour maximum working week. Although this was not a requirement of the original EU Working Time Directive, if an employer did not do it then the Directive’s aims and intentions re working hours could not be achieved.
Spain have adopted this opinion in their domestic legislation already and it remain to be seen whether the UK will adopt it in their Working Time Regulations 1998. Although this law requires employers to keep “adequate records”, these are only required to show compliance with the weekly and night working limits. They do not extend to recording that maximum working hours have not been exceeded or that rest breaks have been taken, thereby complying with the UK law.
In short, the CJEU’s ruling means that the UK’s interpretation of the Working Time Directive is not correct and compromise the intention of the Directive which is all about health and safety of workers.
Global Payroll Association Comment
There is an opinion but it is likely that Member States across the EU will have to follow Spain’s lead and amend their domestic legislation to require employers to keep and actual record of daily working hours. Of course, we have Brexit on the horizon and whether the UK decides to follow this opinion is a matter of question. That very much depends on whether there is an exit deal and the requirements of that deal. Some suggest that employment rights should follow those in Europe even though we will not be members in the future.
In the meantime, our advice is that employers should keep in mind the Directive’s intentions on maximum weekly working hours and rest breaks and consider whether their record keeping is sufficient to ensure these are being adhered to. And, to keep an eye out for announcements on any changes to the UK’s Working Time Regulations regarding any future requirement to document the hours that a worker actually works in the day.
Payroll and HR professionals might want to have a look at Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE C-55/18 which was all to do with the requirement in employers to protect the health and safety of their workers. This Spanish case considered the EU’s Working Time Directive in terms of:
- The organisation of working time
- Daily and weekly rest breaks
- Maximum weekly working time and
- The requirement to set up a system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker
The Spanish employer kept some records, such as when an employee was not working and on holiday but did not keep records of the hours actually worked. The trade union that bought the case to the CJEU argued that unless an employer recorded actual hours of work it was unable to confirm whether the Working Time Directive was being correctly applied in the domestic legislation that interpreted it in Spain.
In a “preliminary opinion” by the CJEU Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella, he said that employers EU-wide must record the number of hours where a worker has not specifically opted out of the 48 hour maximum working week. Although this was not a requirement of the original EU Working Time Directive, if an employer did not do it then the Directive’s aims and intentions re working hours could not be achieved.
Spain have adopted this opinion in their domestic legislation already and it remain to be seen whether the UK will adopt it in their Working Time Regulations 1998. Although this law requires employers to keep “adequate records”, these are only required to show compliance with the weekly and night working limits. They do not extend to recording that maximum working hours have not been exceeded or that rest breaks have been taken, thereby complying with the UK law.
In short, the CJEU’s ruling means that the UK’s interpretation of the Working Time Directive is not correct and compromise the intention of the Directive which is all about health and safety of workers.
Global Payroll Association Comment
There is an opinion but it is likely that Member States across the EU will have to follow Spain’s lead and amend their domestic legislation to require employers to keep and actual record of daily working hours. Of course, we have Brexit on the horizon and whether the UK decides to follow this opinion is a matter of question. That very much depends on whether there is an exit deal and the requirements of that deal. Some suggest that employment rights should follow those in Europe even though we will not be members in the future.
In the meantime, our advice is that employers should keep in mind the Directive’s intentions on maximum weekly working hours and rest breaks and consider whether their record keeping is sufficient to ensure these are being adhered to. And, to keep an eye out for announcements on any changes to the UK’s Working Time Regulations regarding any future requirement to document the hours that a worker actually works in the day.