How the European Court of Justice ruling on time-tracking affects your SME

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that EU member states must require employers to set up an objective, reliable, and accessible system to record the daily working time of each worker. This supports the Working Time Directive’s goals: protecting health and safety and ensuring rest periods and maximum working hours are respected.

For Dutch SMEs, this reinforces what the Arbeidstijdenwet (Working Time Act) and many CAOs already expect: that you do not rely on estimates or unverified data. You need a method that records when work starts and ends (and, where relevant, breaks) in a way that can be checked by the employee and by authorities. Manual logs that are filled in long after the fact or that can be easily altered are less defensible.

An electronic time registration system that records clock-in and clock-out events, applies rest and overtime rules, and keeps an audit trail helps you meet the “objective, reliable, and accessible” standard. It also simplifies payroll and CAO compliance. If you have not yet moved to a dedicated time-recording solution, the ECJ ruling is a good moment to evaluate your current process and consider a system designed for Dutch and EU labor law.

Timeset provides time and attendance solutions built for European and Dutch requirements. Contact us to see how we can support your SME with compliant, transparent time registration.