Are you aware that you have an obligation to keep records of the working hours of your employees and the breaks that they take? And do you know why it’s so important to keep these records?
The Organisation of Working Time Act stipulates that employers must keep records which show that they’re complying with this Act and that these records must be kept for 3 years.
But what must be included in these records? Employers are obliged to record:
- Start and finish times
- Hours of work each week
- Breaks taken
This can either be stored as paper files or on an electronic database.
Your options
Timekeeping doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Instead, a simple form can be easily used for this purpose.
With the OWT1 form, the employee keeps track of their hours of work and their breaks taken. They then have this form signed by their manager at the end of the week, and it’s kept in their personnel file.
Alternatively, an employer can use a ‘clock in/clock out’ system. While this system may be more expensive than the paper-based system, it has its advantages in that it can be more straightforward, and the employer will have less paper to keep on file.
What you choose to use as an employer is up to you, the main thing is that you do keep some form of record.
Resistant employees
What if your employee refuses to complete the OWT1 form or use the clock in/clock out machine?
As employers know all too well, when a change is implemented in the organisation, there is bound to be at least one employee who’ll resist the change.
However, requesting an employee to complete a timesheet is a reasonable management order, and if it’s not followed this could lead to a disciplinary matter and disciplinary action being taken against the employee.
In practice, it’s not that often that an employee would take a claim against an employer for breaching time-keeping legislation alone, but it
is likely that they’ll include it with another claim.
For example, an employee may claim that they were unfairly dismissed and that their employer breached Organisation of Working Time legislation. The Workplace Relations Commission will then look for timekeeping records, and as such it’s crucial that an employer has kept accurate records, which will act as evidence in the employer’s favour against a bogus claim.
Case example
In a recent case in the WRC, ‘An Arctic Truck Driver v A Transport Company’, the issue of timekeeping arose.
The complainant alleged that his former employer had required him to work hours exceeding the maximum working hours set out in legislation and that he rarely got breaks or sufficient rest breaks. The complainant did not provide any evidence of this: he hadn’t taken notes of the specific dates on which he had worked overtime or times when he did not get a break.
The respondent (employer), however, was able to produce various records demonstrating that the complainant had not had to work excessive hours, and had not been without breaks and rest periods. The WRC found that the employee could not prove his allegations, but the employer had the evidence to back up their defence.
If you have any questions in relation to keeping records of employee working hours, please contact our expert employment law advisors on the 24 Hour Advice Service on 0818 923 923
