The end of trust-based working hours in Hungary

In Hungary, the employer's obligation to keep records of working and rest periods is anchored in the Labour Code. Pursuant to Article § 134, the employer registers the duration of ordinary and extraordinary working hours, on-call duty days and holidays. The records must also provide an up-to-date overview of the start and end of regular and extraordinary working hours as well as the on-call times. The records must clearly indicate when, for what period, and at what time what type of work was performed and whether the work was performed in connection with emergency service or on-call duty. The attendance list alone does not meet the legal requirements for recording working and rest times. The fact that the employee indicates on the attendance list the time of his arrival at work or his departure from work does not indicate anything about whether he had ordinary or extraordinary working hours or whether he worked in emergency service or on-call duty. The employee may also keep records of work and rest periods, which are later difficult to prove false or unfounded if they are not reviewed and corrected by the employer over a long period of time.

The Federal Labour Court dated 13/09/2022 has no effect on the Hungarian legal provisions in the sense that the Hungarian legal provisions already contain the requirements mentioned in the decision. Most recently, Curia issued a decision on 27 June 2022 in which it determines the above-mentioned practical requirements.

Autor: Beatrix Fakó