In the case of Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE, ECJ 14.5.19 (C-55/18).The ECJ considered the extent of employer’s record-keeping obligations in relation to the provisions of the EU Working Time Directive on maximum weekly working time and daily and weekly rest.
Article 31(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the EU Charter’) provides: ‘Every worker has the right to limitation of maximum working hours, to daily and weekly rest periods and to an annual period of paid leave.’ These rights are given effect by the EU Working Time Directive (No.2003/88), which requires Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure (among other things) that workers are entitled to a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours (Article 3); a minimum uninterrupted weekly rest period of 24 hours (Article 5); and a limit on average weekly working time of 48 hours (Article 6).
The ECJ concluded that, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the rights provided for by the Directive and enshrined in Article 31(2) of the EU Charter, 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.
