in respect of the maximum weekly working time, maximum daily and weekly working time for young workers and maximum length of night work). Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) requires employers to keep 'adequate records' to show whether certain, but not all of the limits and requirements specified in the WTR, are complied with (e.g. How does this impact employers in the UK? What are the existing UK working time record-keeping provisions?

The CCOO ruling concerns a challenge to Spanish law implementing the WTD, but has wide repercussions making working time record-keeping requirements more onerous across all EU Member States, including the UK. To ensure the effectiveness of the rights provided, the CJEU has ruled that Member States 'must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured'. In the Court's view, without a system that reliably records the working hours of the individuals within the business, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for workers to ensure their rights are complied with. The CJEU noted the importance of the fundamental right of workers to daily and weekly rest periods and limits on maximum hours meaning employers are obliged to ensure that workers, who are the weaker party in the employment relationship, actually benefit from these rights. In a case brought by a Spanish trade union, Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) the CJEU has held that under the WTD, Member States are required to impose record-keeping requirements on staff to ensure the maximum 48 hour weekly working time limit is not exceeded if an opt-out is not in place and also to ensure minimum daily and weekly rest breaks are observed. CJEU ruling on working time record-keeping Recently the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that, in order to comply with the EU Working Time Directive's (WTD) provisions, employers are obliged to set up a system for measuring actual daily working time for individual workers.

Working time directive legislation