By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Foto: Colourbox

On 1 July, Aalborg University (AAU), as an employer, is obliged to ensure that employees' total daily working hours are registered. This is a consequence of a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. An interdisciplinary project group at the university is currently working hard to find a simple, digital, minimum solution for all staff members.

"For some staff – primarily in Shared Services – it is already a fixed, natural part of the work day and for others registering their daily working hours will be new. Therefore, we are working on a user-friendly system with pre-filled standard hours that the staff member can customize. The goal is that the system requires minimum action by staff and managers," says Søren Lind Christiansen, University Director.

According to the university director, the goal is that the new requirement will not affect staff members' current working practices that are based on trust.

"Registration of working hours is about the working environment, and AAU must ensure that staff members do not work more than they should. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that we are not implementing a control system," says the university director.

Collaborating with other universities

Søren Lind Christiansen is the executive manager in the project group that is preparing the university for the new administrative task that is just around the corner.

At the same time, there is an ongoing dialogue across the Danish universities to ensure uniformity among the universities regarding registration of working hours, says project manager Helene Møller Larsen.

"There are several aspects that are still unresolved. For example, Universities Denmark is still waiting for the agency's feedback on whether certain employee groups – e.g. academic staff – can be exempted from the rule on working hours registration. But until we know more, we are working on the assumption that all staff members at AAU must register their total daily working hours as of 1 July," says Helene Møller Larsen.

Joint rules on registering working hours at AAU

In addition to a common system, the project is also responsible for describing the rules for working hours registration that will apply to AAU as a whole. In the period after 1 July, a thorough evaluation of what is being implemented will follow.

"At present, we do not know the consequences of working hours registration. Once we have implemented the legal requirement, we must of course evaluate the solution and learn more about the long-term value the registration could create at AAU," explains the university director.

The working group has created an internal information site where you can continuously follow the development of the project.

On the site, via AAU login, you can:

1. Access up-to-date information and communication materials in Danish and English
2. Ask questions about the project
3. Read minutes and other relevant material from meetings and other project activities

The site is updated continuously and will support the information that will continue to be provided via emails and at meetings.