What it requires
French employers must record the daily working time of every employee not on the same collective schedule, and produce a weekly recap. Implementation is set by Article D. 3171-8.
Who is concerned?
Article L. 3171-2 applies whenever at least one employee is not on a collective schedule — covering teleworkers, day-rate executives, individualized hours, mobile teams, variable shifts. In practice, virtually every French employer is covered.
European reinforcement
The CJEU CCOO ruling (C-55/18, 14 May 2019) strengthens this obligation: member states must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system for measuring daily working time.
Key risk: reversal of burden of proof
The French Cour de cassation has established (Cass. soc. 18 March 2020, n° 18-10.919): if the employee provides sufficiently precise elements about their actual hours, the employer must produce contradicting evidence. An employer without a recording system is highly exposed.
Penalties
- 4th-class fine — up to €750 per affected employee
- Reversal of burden of proof at the labor court
- URSSAF sanctions (contributions on undeclared hours)
- Inspection du travail formal notice
How TimeClock 365 meets Article L. 3171-2
- Automated daily recording — mobile app, NFC, biometric, web
- Automatic weekly recap — exportable
- Secure retention well beyond the 1-year minimum
- Employee accessibility — self-service portal
- Inspection-ready — instant PDF/Excel export
- Reliable system — server timestamps, tamper-resistant audit log