The Working Time Act has been amended, meaning a set of new requirements for employees and employers in Danish workplaces. But what does the new time registration law say, and what requirements does it impose? Learn everything you need to know about the new legislation here.
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On January 23, 2024, the Danish Parliament passed the Working Time Registration Act in response to a European Court of Justice directive requiring member states to enforce mandatory tracking of working hours to ensure adherence to regulations on daily work, rest periods, and breaks.
The rationale for mandatory registration is, in other words, to ensure employee protection against rule violations and, importantly, to focus on their safety and health.
The new Working Time Act imposes requirements on employers to implement a registration system showing each employee’s daily working hours. The registration requirement aims to ensure compliance with these three points in particular:
According to the Working Time Act, an employee may work a maximum of 48 hours per week on average over 4 months. This is intended to ensure sufficient rest and prevent overwork.
The Working Time Act has rules for breaks during the working day. There must be designated breaks during the working day, depending on the length of the working day, the industry, and the workplace.
An employee’s working hours must be scheduled to allow the individual to have 11 consecutive hours of rest within 24 hours. The employee is entitled to 35 consecutive hours of rest once a week.
Companies must implement a reliable, objective, and accessible system to track daily employee hours. The system can be digital or manual. Regular compliance checks are required; non-compliance risks fall to the employer.
During employment, the law also requires that time registration be accessible to each employee.
At the same time, the employer must securely store the information for five years after the anticipated working period.
The new rules on registration requirements must also be updated in GDPR processes.
Employers must ensure that working time rules align with GDPR processes and data protection rules. This implies that employees’ privacy information must be protected.
The 48-hour rule, which states that an employee may not work more than 48 hours on average over a reference period of four months.
It can be exceeded for certain employees, allowing up to 60 hours per week over four months. This applies to those in critical societal roles or covered by collective or standby agreements. Employee consent is required for extended hours.
All employers must ensure that there is a clear and consistent policy for time registration of working hours in the company.
The policy should include:
As an employer, you are obliged to implement a reliable system for registering working hours for all employees. But how do you do it best? Here are four steps to a succesful system implementation.
Decide on which system you want to implement in the company. Should it be as simple as possible, and should it be manual or digital? As an employer, you know best what suits your company. However, try to think long-term so that you don’t need to change the system again soon.
Create a policy at the same time, so it is clear what the company requires from employees regarding time registration.
When the company introduces a new administrative process, the information must be clear. Among other things, it should be clear what the requirements are for time registration.
Allocate sufficient time for training and education for employees when they need to be trained in using the new system.
Once the system has been used for a while, it makes sense to evaluate whether it meets the requirements, works efficiently, and functions in everyday life.
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Many may be unsure of what working time entails. According to the Working Time Act, it is the period during which an employee is available and performs their tasks.
As a starting point, all employers and employees in Danish business are subject to the new requirements for time registration. However, there are still a few exceptions.
Note that employees of self-employed individuals must follow the time registration law, even if the self-employed individual does not need to follow the rules themselves.
The purpose of the new legislation is primarily to ensure the welfare of employees. However, there are both pros and cons to the new time registration law.
There is no clear and definitive answer to when you are a self-scheduler – and it always requires a specific assessment in each case.
However, there are two common denominators for self-schedulers: