New keys to work time management: application problems, controversial sentences and first developments by collective agreements

Abstract

The new article 34.9 of the Workers' Statute has generalized, for labor relations in Spain, the business obligation to record the hours of effective work. The CJEU has endorsed this obligation, also linking it to the protection of occupational safety and health. Most companies have reacted with strong criticism of this imposition. This critical reaction surprises. First, because in Spain there were already several laws that establish obligations to register the day for certain situations. Second, because the generalization of the daily registration of working hours has a dual value, it serves both to protect the rights of working people and the economic interests of employers. This is evidenced by the judgments that have been pronounced in the matter, as the first collective agreements that are developing this obligation. This study offers a complete analysis of all these legal developments.