Under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, employers must keep detailed records of the hours worked by their employees each day and each week.
Depending on the nature of the employment, certain employers will use clocking in machines or to comply with this record-keeping requirement.
Do employers need a machine that records employee working time?
The law simply requires you to keep an accurate record of your employees’ working time and annual leave.
Businesses that pay staff by the hour are more likely to have an employee clock in machine than businesses that pay a fixed salary.
There are various benefits to using clocking in machines for small businesses. It’s often not feasible for management to monitor employee start and finish times.
So if your employees work defined hours, a staff clocking in machine helps you with payroll.
But it also assists ensures you can accurately record your staff hours and comply with your legal obligations under working time laws.
Health & safety
Working time laws are actually designed to protect employee health and wellbeing so other advantages of clock in systems for employers include complying with health and safety law.
A recent decision in the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that to protect the employee right to take rest breaks, employers must have an:
'Objective, reliable and accessible system that records the duration of time worked by each employee.’
So, an employee time clock machine allows you to ensure daily and weekly rest breaks are properly allocated to employees.
21st century clocking in
The days of employee time card machines are largely confined to the past.
Modern day employers are now relying on software such as Blip—that’s rather than clocking machines for employees.
So while some employers may still have a clock in machine, Ireland’s businesses are for the most part are using more advanced technology to stay on top of their working time obligations.
The risks of failing to keep working time records
The Workplace Relations Commission receives more claims under the Organisation of Working Time Act than under any other employment legislation and:
“The failure to keep adequate employment records continues to be the most common breach of employment legislation”
That’s according to a recent statistical report.
If you who fail to keep proper records are guilty of an offence and are liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,900.
Working time rules represent a substantial risk for Irish employers and scribbling down hours of work in a notepad will not satisfy a court or an inspector.
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