Employers are legally required to track employee working hours, including arrival and departure times, breaks, absences, and overtime. This legal obligation has made time tracking software and digital time clocks essential tools. These systems collect and centralise data that can be used not only for payroll but also for workforce management, compliance, and productivity analysis.
Since the European Court of Justice ruling on May 14, 2019, companies must implement a reliable system to track employee hours in all situations:
This obligation applies to all employees, regardless of their position in the company. A time tracking app or software allows employees to clock in and out directly from their smartphone or tablet, while management gains access to centralised, real-time data.
A digital time clock replaces traditional paper timesheets by automatically recording work hours. It ensures that each employee's contracted hours are properly completed.
In companies with flexible working hours or custom schedules, employees may adjust their daily working hours—for example, starting later and leaving earlier—as long as they meet their contractual obligations within a set period (weekly or monthly).
A time clock system makes this flexibility possible by accurately tracking hours worked and enabling real-time overtime calculation and compensatory rest tracking, all aligned with company agreements.
The system also tracks various types of absences, such as:
Employees can monitor their leave balances directly through the system.
For HR and payroll teams, automated data collection streamlines payroll processing. At the end of each month, data can be transferred directly to payroll software, ensuring accuracy and reducing manual errors. This simplifies overtime calculation, leave deductions, and special allowances.
In case of a labour inspection or URSSAF audit, the employer must provide a full record of hours worked, including:
A digital time clock ensures that this data is always up-to-date and readily available for each employee, department, or site.
For remote work, traveling employees, or flexible schedules, accurate time tracking was historically challenging. With digital clocking apps, employees log their hours directly—even from home or on the road.
The HR department gains real-time visibility, eliminating the need for manual adjustments upon employees' return to the office.
Overtime tracking is also automated, and employees receive alerts when their working hours exceed legal or contractual limits.
Modern time clocks are not just administrative tools; they also enhance workplace safety. They help employers track who is on-site, making it easier to account for employees during an emergency evacuation.
Additionally, late departures or after-hours presence can be automatically flagged, ensuring that employees don’t exceed legal working limits.
