Employers are obligated to manage and calculate the effective working time of their employees. Their presence within the company must be validated to establish their pay slips and any remuneration for overtime or compensatory rest. Therefore, it is recommended to choose time and attendance software that allows for accurate calculation for each employee.
In many countries, effective working time is based on the legal duration of presence in the company, often around 35 hours per week for full-time employment. This threshold triggers the perception of overtime or rest days for the employee. It is, therefore, important to define it to comply with labor laws and understand how the calculation of working time is accounted for within the personnel department.
This effective working time meets three criteria: the employee's voluntary availability to their employer, the delivery of directives, and the employee's inability to use this time for their own occupations.
To implement this calculation of effective working time, it is now recommended to use time and attendance software that allows for the personalization of the number of hours spent under the company's purview for each employee.
Employees are not authorized to work more than the standard legal hours per week without receiving additional compensation in the form of increased wages or compensatory rest hours. There is a notable difference between the time spent in the company and effective working time. Only the latter is accounted for by the company for the purpose of issuing the pay slip and, therefore, the monthly salary.
Time spent includes hours spent at the workplace. It, therefore, includes breaks, meals, and time spent dressing and undressing, except for special clothing or professional equipment.
In addition to hours spent at their workstation, employees benefit from additional effective working hours that are necessarily included in the calculation of effective working hours.
Training sessions during the day, mandatory and framed by a training plan, followed during working hours are considered effective working time. Other training, especially those outside working hours, are excluded.
These hours are considered effective time if they are made mandatory by the employer. They are not if the activities are voluntary and not planned in the work week.
These are, of course, counted, whether the employee goes to a client or supplier or travels from one company site to another.
These are considered effective working time if they correspond to paid leave, leave for family events, maternity and paternity leave, work accident leave, and compensatory rest hours given by the employer.
The following are not included in the calculation of effective working time:
It should be noted that most companies do not deduct daytime breaks from their employees' effective working time if they remain acceptable.
Moreover, employees who frequently and regularly respond to requests by mail or email during their rest hours may have an on-call system implemented by their employer.
