Busy Friday evening, extra staff scheduled on Saturday, someone staying longer to wash up. At the end of the week you ask who worked how many hours. Estimates and Excel lists are no longer enough.
Since 2024, Belgium and the Netherlands require employers to record worked hours objectively. For restaurants with staff that means: registering with reliable timestamps. In this article you learn what the law requires and how time tracking in Restotailor helps, included in €65 per month.
Why record objectively?
In hospitality people trust each other quickly. But during an inspection, a dispute over overtime or an accident, only what you can prove counts. "I thought he worked until closing" is not evidence. Objective registration protects employee and employer and simplifies payroll administration.
Legislation in Belgium
Belgian employers must record working time objectively, reliably and accessibly. That applies to all sectors, including restaurants, brasseries and hospitality businesses with employees on payroll, even with a small team or part-timers. Your records must include at least start and end time per work session and must be available on request during inspections.
Legislation in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands the Transparent and Predictable Employment Terms Act (WTTA) strengthened the right to insight into working hours. Since 1 January 2024 employers must have a system to record worked hours. The Labour Inspectorate can check whether that system exists and is used. A restaurant with two part-timers also falls under the obligation.
What must you keep?
Per employee and per day: when the shift started and ended, including extra hours on busy evenings or holidays. Breaks and overtime follow the same logic: what actually happened, not only what was on the schedule. Keep data so you can export it per period for your accountant or during inspections.
What does that look like in a restaurant?
Three situations are common. Relying on verbal agreements: fast, but not compliant with the law. Using the reservation diary as a proxy: handy for planning, but not time tracking (stock, cleaning and setup count too). Digital clock-in and clock-out: staff clock in at start and out at end; you see live who is present. That best fits current rules.
Common mistakes
Filling in hours afterwards on Friday. Only keeping schedules without actual timestamps. No export or archive when someone leaves or during an audit. Forgetting to clock in and then guessing. A digital system with objective timestamps prevents many of those problems, provided your team uses it consistently.
Time tracking in Restotailor
From the portal you clock staff in and out. You immediately see who is clocked in and since when. Forgot to clock in? You can still register a start time on the same day. Choose a date range and view all moments per employee with total duration. Export a PDF for your accountant. Want that automatically? Set a weekly or monthly email report under notifications. That way you combine reservations, guest management and hour registration in one tool.
Conclusion
Time tracking is no longer an administrative luxury, but a legal requirement in Belgium and the Netherlands. For restaurants with staff, a simple digital system that fits your daily operations pays off. Restotailor offers clock-in and clock-out, reports and PDF export included in €65 per month. If in doubt about your specific situation: consult your payroll service provider or employment law adviser.