Start or end of working hours

Quick overview:

• Employee must be on site at the beginning of the shift ready to work.

• The employer may set the start of the shift, but may not unreasonably require a long arrival before it.

• If the employee works before the start of the shift at the direction of the employer, it may be overtime.

• Late arrivals may be a breach of work duties

Not sure if your employer is following the law? Check your employment contract or employer’s procedure. Use ouremployment law service to get the law on your side.

What is working time

Let’s start by talking about what working time actually is. It is the time during which an employee is required to perform work for an employer, and the time during which an employee is in the workplace ready to perform work as directed by the employer. It is therefore also the time when you are at the workplace and the employer does not have work for you at the moment, although he is obliged to assign work to you.

The basic working time is 40 hours per week. There are exceptions where the hours of work are shorter, for example for workers in mines, but also in two-shift, three-shift or continuous operation.

When must an employee be prepared

The employer determines the start and end of working time. In doing so, the employee is obliged to start work at the beginning of the working time, i.e. he must not only be at the workplace but also be ready to do the work. Sometimes it is necessary, for example, for the employee to change into work clothes, move around the premises or take a shower. This time is not counted as working time (unless the employer specifies otherwise).

The employer cannot, for example, impose fines for late arrivals. If the employee is a real sinner and regularly arrives late to work, the employment relationship may eventually be terminated by notice for persistent minor breaches of the legal obligations relating to the employee’s work.

However, in order to be terminated, the employee must be notified of the possibility of termination by letter of reprimand at least 6 months before the notice is served (12 months if he or she does not meet the requirements for proper performance of the job, which consist of unsatisfactory performance).

End of working hours

An employee may leave work only after the end of working hours. For example, if he/she finishes at 17:00, he/she cannot leave at 16:59. Of course, it also depends on the agreement with the employer. Some may be more benevolent, which may also be related to the nature of the operation.

In some positions, it is not important that the employee be on time. However, in others this may be very essential, for example in a continuous operation, or in a position where serious harm or even danger to human life is imminent if the employee is absent, such as an air traffic controller.

Again, if you need to take a shower, change clothes or make any adjustments after your shift, this time will not count towards your working hours.

An hour early for work?

However, if your employer wants you to come to work an hour earlier than standard working hours the next day, this is classic overtime, which in this case is actually before working hours.

For overtime, the employee is entitled to an additional payment of at least 25% of their average earnings. An employer can only order overtime work exceptionally for serious reasons and must comply with the rules laid down by law, which, among other things, determine the minimum rest period that an employee must have between shifts.

If the employer justifies this extra hour of working time by the aforementioned preparation for the shift and you know that you can do it in ten minutes, then the employer’s request is unjustified. It is therefore up to you whether you arrive at work 5, 10 or 20 minutes before the start of your shift; the important thing is that you are actually able to start work at that time, for example at 8:00 a.m. Even just one minute late can be assessed by the employer as a breach of work discipline.

In our practice, we handled a case involving an employee of a manufacturing company where the employer required workers to arrive at the workplace 20 minutes before the start of their shift to change clothes, perform a safety check, and prepare the work machine. However, this time was not recorded as working time anywhere, nor were they reimbursed.

Employees were warned that if they arrived later than these 20 minutes before their shift, it would be considered a late arrival. In practice, the workers were thus spending dozens of minutes more at the workplace each day than their shift schedule indicated.

However, if the employer requires some preparation on the job and according to its instructions, this time may be considered as working time. In this case, the extra preparation was a necessary part of the work – the employees had to pass a safety check, change into protective clothing and prepare the technology.

As the employer required these arrivals 20 minutes earlier but did not record this as working time anywhere, it was guilty of an infringement.

Can an employer change working hours from one day to the next?

Although the employer determines the start and end of shifts, the employer must schedule the working hours in advance. The Labour Code provides that the employer must draw up a written weekly working time schedule and inform the employee of the schedule or any changes to it at least 2 weeks before the start of the period for which the working time is scheduled, unless the employer agrees with the employee on a different time.

Thus, sudden changes in working time without prior notification are generally not in accordance with the statutory rules on the scheduling of working time.

Checklist: Is the employer’s practice in accordance with the law?

If you are unsure whether your employer is following the correct procedure for setting the start and end of working time, review the following questions:

• Does the employer have a predetermined schedule of working hours and shifts?

• Were you given at least 2 weeks’ notice of the working time schedule or any changes to it (unless otherwise agreed)?

• Are you required to be at the workplace at the start of your shift, not just arriving at work?

• Does your employer keep records of the actual start and end of your shifts?

• Does the employer also record overtime or night work?

• Do you have the possibility to consult your timesheets?

If you answer no to any of these questions, it may be worth checking whether your employer is complying with the Labour Code. We will be happy to help you in such a situation.

Summary

The rights of both the employee and the employer can be summarised as follows. As long as you are always at the workplace at the time set by your employer, you act in accordance with the Labour Code and do not breach your obligations, your employer has no reason to take any action against you, send you letters of reproach or deny you pay.

If your employer asks you to start work 20 minutes before the official start of your shift, this is overtime work for which you are entitled to pay.

You can also tell your employer that if you are required to be at the workplace as early as ten minutes before the start of your shift, this is effectively an overtime order. Your employer should then give you proper remuneration for this overtime work.