Time registration 2027
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Recording working time from 2027Mandatory time registration in 2027: what we know now and what we don't yet
The federal government wants every employer to record their staff's working time from 1 January 2027. Even if you only have a handful of employees. Here's what's on the table, without panic and without guesswork.
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What is on the table
The federal government wants to introduce a general obligation to record working time from 1 January 2027. Employment Minister Clarinval confirmed this in April 2026. There is a preliminary draft bill. It is not law yet: the text can still change before it is voted.
Why is this big news for small businesses? Because most small employers don't record anything today. According to Liantis, over 90% of companies with fewer than 10 employees don't record working time yet. For them it's a new habit, and one you'd rather build calmly than in the last week of March.
Some registration obligations already exist today, for example with flexitime or variable part-time schedules. If you already deal with those, you have a head start. For everyone else, registration will become the general rule instead of the exception.
What is certain
As things stand, based on what the government has communicated and the preliminary draft:
- The government is aiming for general registration of working time from 1 January 2027.
- No specific method is imposed. A time clock is not mandatory.
- The system you choose must be objective, reliable, and accessible.
- Under the preliminary draft, you have until the end of March 2027 to comply if you have no system on 1 January 2027. So by 1 April 2027 at the latest, it has to be in place.
- Existing registration obligations, such as for flexitime, still apply.
What isn't settled yet
A preliminary draft is a working text. These points are not final at this stage:
- The final text of the law and the exact date it takes effect.
- Which exceptions there will be, for example for certain roles or sectors.
- What penalties apply for non-compliance. Anyone quoting fines today is getting ahead of a text that doesn't exist yet.
- Exactly how long you must keep the records and in what form you must be able to present them.
- How the rules play out for your joint committee or your specific situation. Your social secretariat is the right place to ask.
There is also debate
Not everyone is happy. UNIZO opposes what it calls the 'mandatory time clock' and fears extra paperwork for small business owners. The unions see registration as a way to avoid arguments about overtime: what's recorded is in black and white.
As a business owner you'll find the debate interesting, but not decisive. As long as the government is on this track, it pays to be prepared. And law aside: if you track your hours well, you also know better what a project really cost.
Transition period under the preliminary draft
The preliminary draft includes a transition period. If you have no registration system on 1 January 2027, you have until the end of March 2027 to comply. In practice: by 1 April 2027 at the latest, a system must be running.
Three months sounds like plenty. But choosing a system is the easy part. You also need to set up the right arrangement for each employee, get your team used to a timer, and close and check a first month. Start in January and you have your first full month in February. Start in March and there's no margin left if something is off.
Note: this reflects the preliminary draft. If the final text sets other dates or conditions, those apply. Ask your social secretariat what applies to you.
What a valid system must do
The government doesn't impose a method, but sets three requirements: objective, reliable and accessible. What that can mean in practice, without getting ahead of the final text:
- Objective: hours are recorded as they happen, not estimated at the end of the week.
- Objective: start and end of work are clear, even when someone is on site or at a client's.
- Reliable: hours can't be changed unnoticed. Changes stay visible, as does the original.
- Reliable: a closed period is locked and isn't quietly rewritten.
- Accessible: employees can view their own hours.
- Accessible: you can quickly present or export the records when asked.
- Retained: people who leave don't disappear from your history.
Step-by-step plan for a small business with up to 25 employees
You don't need to wait for the final law to get started. These steps make sense whatever the final text says.
Map how you work today
Who works full-time, who part-time, who has a fixed schedule and who has flexitime? Note each employee's contract hours and the agreements on daily and weekly limits.
Call your social secretariat
Ask what the new rules mean for your business, which records you should already be keeping today and in what format they want to receive the hours.
Choose a system
Check that the system is objective, reliable and accessible. Can an employee rewrite hours afterwards without a trace? Then it's probably not what you need. Working with a spreadsheet now? Read when Excel is enough and when it isn't.
Set up the arrangements
Enter the right arrangement for each employee, with a start date. That way later changes, like someone moving to 4/5, stay correct too.
Run a trial month
Have your team record a full month. Look at which days differ from the schedule, review them and close the month. You'll quickly see where agreements are still unclear.
Make it a monthly routine
Record, review, close, export. Every month, so a pile of hours never builds up.
How Finito helps
Finito isn't a legal product. It's time tracking built around the requirements currently on the table.
Recorded as it happens
One tap on the green timer, on phone or computer. No timer running for 10 minutes? You get a notification. Employees can only change their hours on the day itself.
Nothing disappears unnoticed
Every change to hours is in the log. The owner can always make changes, but the original stays visible. No time worked is trimmed.
Close the month
A closed month is locked. Nobody changes anything any more, not even by accident.
The right arrangement per employee
Full-time, part-time, contract hours, daily and weekly limit, fixed schedule. Each arrangement gets a start date. More on overtime and flexitime.
Export for your social secretariat
Hours by type, per employee per day, as a zip file. How that works is explained on payroll export for your social secretariat.
Retained, in the EU
Data in the EU. People who leave are archived, never deleted. Every month an export lands in the owner's inbox automatically.
Not legal advice
This page sums up what is publicly known about the preliminary draft bill, as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. The final text, exceptions and penalties are not settled yet. For your own situation, consult your social secretariat.
See Finito pricingFrequently asked questions
From when do I have to record working time?
The government wants a general obligation from 1 January 2027. Under the preliminary draft, you have until the end of March 2027 if you have no system on 1 January. The final law still has to confirm this.
Does this apply to small businesses too?
As things stand, it's a general obligation, so small employers are included. Whether there will be exceptions isn't settled yet. Check with your social secretariat.
Do I need to install a time clock?
No. No specific method is imposed. The system does have to be objective, reliable and accessible. An app with a timer can meet that perfectly, as long as records can't be changed unnoticed.
What are the penalties?
That isn't settled yet. Penalties aren't in a final text yet. Be wary of anyone quoting specific amounts today.
Is an Excel sheet enough?
That depends on how the final text spells out 'objective, reliable and accessible'. A sheet you fill in afterwards or can change without a trace is on weaker ground. Also read Finito or Excel.
I already use flexitime. Does anything change?
Flexitime already comes with a registration obligation today. That stays in place. Your social secretariat can confirm whether your current way of working will be enough.
Is Finito a legally approved system?
There's no list of approved systems, and the law isn't there yet. Finito is built around the requirements currently on the table: recording as it happens, a log of every change, closed months and export whenever you like.
Start now, and March 2027 is just another month
Give your team a few months to get used to it before it's required. Try Finito free for 30 days, no meeting or credit card needed.
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