From the start of 2027, all Belgian employers will be expected to record employees' working time – a requirement that could upset the delicate balance of flexible working in Belgium for some small and medium-sized firms, according to one expert.
In rulings from 2019 and 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU argued that without the ability to track working time, rights linked to maximum working time and minimum rest become theoretical and, therefore, unenforceable.
"This is a common-sense reading," Yves Stox from HR services organisation Partena Professional told The Brussels Times. "The European directive does not impose a working time registration; it is merely the interpretation of the Court of Justice that there should be one."
In Belgium, the Federal Government's new draft law would require employers to reliably record daily and weekly hours worked, Le Soir reports. The move, long in the making, aims to ensure compliance with rights guaranteed under the EU's Working Time Directive.
Changing how people work
While some EU countries already required employers to track working time before the 2024 ruling, Belgium had not introduced a system. Following the court decision, however, the Belgian political world realised that they "could no longer look away", according to Stox.
For larger companies, and those in sectors such as manufacturing and construction, the move is unlikely to drive major change, as some already track working time for operational reasons such as structuring shift patterns.
For some small and medium-sized companies, however, Stox noted a risk for employers who may currently have flexible approaches to working hours, overtime and compensation.
Smaller companies that currently do not track working time and instead compensate employees with bonuses at the end of the year, may start seeing a shift toward employees requesting overtime compensation, he explained.
"Your workers may start behaving differently. Now they enter, do their work, and leave. When they work well, you are happy with them, and you give them a premium. Everybody's happy," he said.
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However, once tracking working hours becomes required, things may change with a greater focus on hourly compensation. "The status quo, that give and take, falls away and may disappear," Stox said.
The new obligations will apply to employers in the public and private sectors, and will require accurate recording of working time. However, employers do not have to submit this information, only keep it.
Exemptions may apply to some employees, such as those already exempt from the Working Time Directive, such as managers and mobile workers.
Additionally, the law is unlikely to stipulate a technology solution, apart from ensuring that the system meets the Court of Justice of the EU's requirements of being "objective, reliable, and accessible".
"It may be that it will become a regular badging system in most companies, whether it will be a physical badge or an electronic badge online," explained Stox. Overall, the aim is to track hours worked and, as Stox noted, identify where overtime is worked.
The stated introduction is from 1 January 2027, but the Employment and Labour Ministry said that the real deadline for companies to comply will be 1 April 2027.
