All employers in the European Union will have to keep exact records of their employees’ working hours. This is the gist of a judgment issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union and binding for all European Union member states.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Member States “must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured." According to the Court, when such a system is lacking, it is not possible to “objectively and reliably” determine the number of hours worked within standard working hours and overtime, thus making it “very difficult, if not impossible” for employees to exercise their rights.