Preparing and publishing the shift roster

The employer must prepare and publish the shift roster in good time. The employer must comply with the provisions of the applicable collective agreement in preparing the shift roster. A shift roster is of great importance in work where working days and working hours change constantly. It is important for employees to know about their working hours beforehand for time management reasons.

The employee must be able to trust that the published shift roster will be followed without changes. Therefore, a shift roster once published can principally only be amended with the consent of the employee(s) concerned.

Working hours of employees subject to flexible working time arrangements

Although work should, as a rule, only be performed on weekdays, employees who are subject to flexible working time arrangements can also be asked to work on Sundays. The rate payable for any work performed on Sundays depends on whether working on a Sunday is the employee’s choice. If an employee chooses to work on a Sunday instead of a weekday, a normal rate is payable for the work. If, however, it is the employer’s requirement that the employee works on a Sunday, a Sunday work bonus must be paid.

Entering information into a working hours accounting system

It is the employer’s responsibility to seek employees’ consent before entering any information into their working hours accounts. Employees can give their consent for each entry separately or for a fixed period of a short duration.

Correct keeping of the record of working hours

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their employees’ working hours are recorded correctly. Correct documentation of working hours is of crucial importance if disagreements concerning hours worked and compensation paid need to be resolved after the fact between employer and employee.

Employees who are subject to flexible working time arrangements must provide their employer with a list of the regular hours that they have worked for each pay period as agreed with their employer. The list must show each employee’s weekly working hours and free time. It is the employer’s responsibility to make sure that they get a list from each employee and enter the information into the working hours register.

If a working hours accounting system has been put in place, the record of working hours must show the account balances of each employee and any time off taken by employees on the basis of the system.

In cases where the employer has neglected to keep a record of working hours or is keeping it incorrectly, courts tend to rely on the employee’s reports and notes presented as grounds for claims for overtime pay.

Employee’s right of access to details in the record of working hours concerning themselves

The employer must take into account that an employee or a third party authorised by that employee is entitled to receive from the employer a written statement on the details concerning the employee himself/herself in the shift roster and the record of working hours.

Presenting the record of working hours and other working hours documents

The record of working hours and any written agreements on regular working hours must be presented on demand to the occupational safety and health inspector. The shop steward and occupational safety and health representative at the workplace are also entitled to see these documents.

The employer must, on demand from the occupational safety and health inspector, provide copies of:

• the record of working hours,
• written agreements concerning working hours,
• the working hours adjustment schedule, and
• the shift roster.