The Working Time Directive establishes health and safety based limits on working time across the EU. It is a directive rather than a regulation, so it takes effect through each member state's own implementing law, with national variation on top of the common floor.
The core standards
- A maximum average working week, calculated over a reference period
- Minimum daily and weekly rest periods
- Rest breaks during the working day
- Minimum paid annual leave
- Limits and health assessments for night workers
Recording working time
European court rulings have established that employers must have an objective, reliable and accessible system for recording daily working time, on the basis that limits cannot be enforced if hours are not measured. Member states have implemented this at different speeds, but the direction is clear and it applies to salaried professional staff, not only to shift workers.
Why it matters when hiring internationally
Companies from jurisdictions where salaried employees simply work the hours the job requires often have no time records for European staff at all. The obligation to record is separate from the obligation to stay within limits, and failing the first makes defending the second impossible. It also interacts with the right to disconnect where that applies.