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Time Tracking
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Time Tracker in France

Facing strict legal requirements, businesses in France must track working hours accurately. Harvest simplifies compliance with its flexible time tracking tools.

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How much revenue is your team leaving on the table?

Most agencies run at 55-60% utilization. Even a small improvement means significant revenue. See what closing the gap looks like for your team.

Number of people who track billable time
$
Blended rate across roles (junior, senior, lead)
55%
Percentage of total hours that are billable. Industry average is 55-60%.
75%
A realistic target for service businesses is 70-80%.
Monthly revenue gap $0
Revenue at current utilization $0/mo
Revenue at target utilization $0/mo
Extra billable hours needed per person/day 0h
Annual revenue opportunity $0

Start tracking team utilization

Walk through the entire flow below. Start a timer, check your reports, and create a real invoice — all in three clicks.

Go ahead — start tracking!

One click and you're timing. Try it right here: start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Harvest.

  • One-click timer from browser, desktop & mobile
  • Works inside Jira, Asana, Trello, GitHub & 50+ tools
  • Duration or start/end — your call
  • Day, week & calendar views to stay on top of it all
  • Friendly reminders so no hour gets left behind
Acme Corp
Website Redesign
Homepage layout revisions
1:24:09
Content Strategy
Blog calendar planning
1:30:00
SEO Audit
Technical audit report
0:45:00
Brand Guidelines
Color system documentation
2:15:00
Logo Concepts
Initial sketches round 1
1:00:00
Today's total 6:54:09

Understanding Time Tracking Legalities in France

In France, time tracking is not just a best practice — it's a legal obligation for all employers. Under French labor law, companies are required to maintain detailed records of employee work hours. This mandate stems from the European Court of Justice's May 2019 ruling, which obliges all EU employers to implement an "objective, reliable, and accessible system" for tracking daily work hours. The primary aim is to ensure compliance with maximum working hours, proper overtime accounting, and adherence to mandated rest periods.

Employers in France must accurately document individual work hours, leave, compensatory rest, and overtime. These records are vital not only for legal compliance but also for verifying that employees receive their entitled rest periods. For collective work schedules, a clear timetable indicating work and rest periods is necessary, and it must be signed and dated by an HR manager or director to be legally valid. Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to significant penalties, making accurate and accessible time tracking crucial for businesses operating in France.

Comprehensive Tracking with Harvest

For businesses navigating the complexities of French labor laws, Harvest offers a robust solution for time tracking. With its one-click start/stop timers and manual time entry options, Harvest simplifies the process of recording work hours, ensuring compliance with the legal requirement to track employee time accurately. This is essential for verifying that the legal 35-hour workweek is adhered to and that any overtime is correctly documented and compensated.

Harvest not only tracks work hours but also provides detailed reports on time, expenses, and team utilization. This functionality is crucial for businesses needing to maintain transparency and provide access to time records for employees, unions, and government inspections. By integrating with tools like Asana and Slack, Harvest further enhances productivity and ensures seamless workflow management, supporting companies in meeting their legal obligations efficiently.

Ensuring Compliance with Data Retention and Accessibility

In France, maintaining accessible and accurate time records is a legal necessity. Companies are required to keep employee time records for a minimum of four years, ensuring these records are readily available for employees, unions, and government inspections. This accessibility is crucial for compliance with labor laws, and Harvest's platform ensures records are both secure and easily retrievable.

Harvest enables companies to provide employees with direct access to their time records, aligning with the French requirement for transparency. By offering comprehensive data management features, Harvest assists businesses in meeting these obligations while reducing administrative burdens. The platform's integration capabilities with accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero also streamline record keeping, making it easier for employers to maintain compliance.

Time Tracker in France with Harvest

The preview shows Harvest's time tracking interface, designed to help French businesses comply with labor laws by accurately tracking work hours.

Screenshot of Harvest time tracker for legal compliance in France

Time Tracker in France FAQs

  • In France, companies are legally required to record and track the working hours of all employees. This includes detailed records of work hours, leave, and overtime, as mandated by French labor law and the European Court of Justice ruling.

  • Harvest offers tools like one-click timers and manual time entry, aiding businesses in France to comply with legal requirements by accurately tracking work hours and generating detailed reports.

  • Failure to comply with time tracking laws in France can result in significant penalties. Accurate tracking ensures that maximum working hours are not exceeded and that employees receive entitled rest periods.

  • French law requires employers to document breaks and rest periods in a clear timetable, signed and dated by an HR manager or director. This ensures compliance with regulations on work and rest times.

  • While the general requirements for time tracking apply across industries, certain sectors may have additional regulations. It's crucial for employers to understand industry-specific obligations to ensure full compliance.

  • Yes, Harvest allows you to track expenses and manage project budgets, providing alerts when approaching limits. This helps in maintaining financial oversight alongside time tracking.

  • Harvest integrates with a wide range of tools like Asana, Trello, Slack, and accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero, enhancing workflow management and compliance tracking.