Recording of working time can also be required for domestic employees
The ECJ has decided that a general exemption from the obligation to record the working time of domestic employees is not compatible with EU law if as a result it is not possible to ensure that the maximum working hours are not exceeded. All employees in the EU have to be given the opportunity to be able to keep track of the hours worked and claim any overtime.
In Spain, some employers (including private households) are exempt from the obligation to record the time that has been worked. When a full-time domestic employee wanted payment for overtime, she failed to secure this in the court of first instance because she was not able to provide proof for the overtime worked. By contrast, the second instance court doubted that the exemption from the recording of working time was compatible with EU law and referred a question in this respect to the ECJ. In its ruling of 19.12.2024 (case: C-531/23) the court came to the conclusion that national rules may admittedly provide for exceptions to the obligation to record working time, thus on account of the size of the employer or its sector of activity, for example. This may only apply if it can be ensured that the affected employees do not exceed the weekly maximum working hours. The Spanish rule at issue here was thus contrary to European law because it deprived domestic employees of the possibility to objectively and reliably determine how many hours and when they had actually worked. Furthermore, the ECJ stressed that the majority of domestic employees are women and there could be indirect discrimination on grounds of sex.
