Under French labor law, all companies must record and track the working hours of their employees. This applies to:
The law makes a distinction between collective schedules and individual schedules.
If your company uses a collective work schedule, you must establish a clear timetable indicating:
If working hours are spread over a reference period (up to one year), you must display a schedule covering that entire period.
The HR manager or the company director must sign and date the schedule before posting it to make it legally valid.
For each employee, the company must maintain a record of worked hours, taken leave, compensatory rest, and any overtime.
However, the labor code does not impose a specific format for this record. It can be maintained on paper, in spreadsheets, or through a digital time tracking system such as a time clock app.
When installing a digital time clock in your company, you must comply with 4 main legal obligations.
The system must guarantee data accuracy and security. Time records must be tamper-proof. Automated systems are recommended to minimize risks of data manipulation.
The Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) specifies that only badge-based systems are authorized for time tracking.
Biometric systems, such as fingerprint or facial recognition devices, are prohibited unless used for access control to high-security areas (nuclear sites, for example).
In case of a labor inspection, your company must be able to provide full access to employee time records.
Additionally, companies must inform the CNIL before installing a time tracking system and wait for authorization. Employee representatives must also be consulted in advance.
Since time tracking involves collecting personal data, employees must have direct access to their own time records at all times.
This transparency also helps employees understand and accept the implementation of a time tracking system.
If a labor inspection finds that your company has not properly recorded working hours, penalties can include:
To comply with French labor law, every company must maintain accurate records of all employee working hours. Installing a digital time clock is one of the most efficient ways to meet this obligation while simplifying administrative processes.
