A prikklok (time clock) in Belgium is no longer just a box on the wall. For a construction or field team, the right choice is usually a mix: a smartphone app for crews, a badge at a site terminal for workers without a work phone, and registration in the vehicle for drivers. No Belgian law requires a prikklok, and the planned 2027 rule does not require one either. What matters is that each method is reliable, fits where the work happens, and respects privacy law. Avoid fingerprint clocks.
Suivo’s time tracking software lets field workers register via the mobile app, a badge, a fixed check-in pole on site, or automatically through their vehicle. Below is a comparison to help you choose.
What is a prikklok today?
The word comes from the old punch clock: you pushed a paper card into the machine and it printed the time. Belgian buyers still search for “prikklok”, but the devices have changed. In the market you will also see tikklok (tap clock), usually meaning a touchscreen, tablet or app where you tap to clock in.
Today there are four main forms:
- Wall terminal: a fixed device at the depot, workshop or office entrance. Employees register with a badge, card or PIN.
- Badge at a site terminal: a mobile terminal or werfpaal (site pole) on a construction site. Workers hold a badge or ID card against it.
- Smartphone app: the employee registers start, stop and breaks on their own phone or a work phone.
- Vehicle registration: the driver identifies in the van or truck, for example with an RFID badge, a button or a card. The working day starts when they register there.
On construction sites the same device often does double duty: it records presence on the site for the RSZ (Check in at Work today, Check in and out at work from 1 April 2027) and hours for payroll. Suivo describes three methods for Check in at Work: the app, a mobile site pole that accepts the Belgian ID card and other identifiers, and a black box in the vehicle.
How do the options compare?
| Method | Accuracy | Cost profile | Fraud risk | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall terminal with badge or PIN | High for one fixed location | Hardware per location | Medium: a colleague can use someone else’s badge | Depots, workshops, offices |
| Badge at a site terminal or pole | High on site | Hardware per site, moved between sites | Medium | Construction sites with many workers, workers without a work phone |
| Smartphone app | High if time is taken from the device clock at the moment of registration | Low hardware cost, needs phones and data | Low to medium: harder to register for someone else | Crews moving between sites, small teams, technicians |
| Vehicle registration (badge or button) | High for drivers | Hardware per vehicle | Low: tied to the vehicle and the driver ID | Truck drivers, ready-mix drivers, service vans |
| Fingerprint or face terminal | High | Hardware per location | Low | Not recommended in Belgium (see privacy below) |
| Paper or Excel timesheet | Low: filled in afterwards | No hardware, high admin time | High | Very small teams only, as a temporary solution |
Two practical notes for construction:
- Coverage: an app needs mobile data to send in real time. Ask what happens on a site without coverage.
- Phones: not every worker has a work phone, and some clients do not allow smartphones on site. A badge solves both. In its practical guidance for cleaning sites under Check in and out at work, the RSZ itself points to a badge system as an alternative where smartphones are not allowed.
For a detailed look at the site choice, read our comparison of the Check in at Work app versus a site pole.
Is a prikklok mandatory in Belgium?
No. Belgium has no general rule today on which device you must use to register working time.
Three things are true at the same time:
- The planned general rule does not require one. The government plans to make working-time registration mandatory from 1 January 2027, with a transition period to 31 March 2027. As of September 2026 this is still a draft law. According to Securex, the government has said several times that a time clock is not the intention, and a proposed resolution on time registration states that registration is “not necessarily about time clock systems but about a way to measure working time”. The minister has said the law will not impose a specific method or technology, as long as the system records actual working time objectively and reliably.
- EU law sets a result, not a device. The Court of Justice of the EU (case C-55/18) requires an objective, reliable and accessible system, and leaves the form to each Member State.
- Some registration is already mandatory. Attendance on construction sites of EUR 500,000 or more and for ready-mix deliveries (Check in at Work today, and from 1 April 2027 Check in and out at work, according to the RSZ), and deviations from a part-timer’s published schedule. For CIAO the RSZ names registration on a smartphone through its online service (QR code or URL), or a badge, track and trace or another application connected through its webservice. It does not name a wall clock.
Whatever you choose, your arbeidsreglement (work regulations) must state how work is measured and checked to set pay, according to FOD WASO (Federal Public Service Employment). A new method means updating it.
Our article on whether a prikklok is mandatory in 2027 explains both rules side by side.
What does the GBA say about fingerprints and GPS?
Fingerprints. The Belgian Data Protection Authority (GBA) treats biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition as a special category under the GDPR. Processing is prohibited unless a specific exception applies. Because of the power imbalance at work, the GBA says employee consent cannot be relied on, and a legal basis that shows the processing is proportionate is almost always needed. Even then, the template should in principle stay with the employee, for example on a badge.
This is not theory. In decision 114/2024, the GBA Disputes Chamber found that an employer’s fingerprint time registration breached the GDPR. Fingerprints were the only time registration method in use. The Chamber imposed a fine of EUR 45,000 (reduced from a proposed EUR 90,000). Our advice: use a badge, app or PIN instead.
GPS and location. The GBA’s page on geolocation says there is no specific Belgian rule, but the GDPR applies in full. Key points for time registration:
- Set out the purposes and frequency of monitoring in a clear policy. A single line about “GPS tracking” in the work regulations is generally not enough.
- Permanent, systematic monitoring is in principle disproportionate.
- The system must be able to switch off when the employee uses the vehicle outside working hours.
- A geolocation device in a vehicle may not be used to calculate employees’ working time if another system for that already exists.
The last point matters for mixed setups. Choose one source of hours per employee, and do not use location data to recalculate hours that a badge or app already records. For Check in and out at work, GPS is not mandatory: in the RSZ’s cleaning FAQ, workers can choose automatic location or enter an address manually.
Consultation. In companies with on average 50 or more employees, a new system can fall under CAO no. 39 if it has important collective consequences, which means at least 50% and at least 10 employees of a professional category are affected. Then you inform and consult employee representatives at the latest three months before you start implementing it.
How do you choose in 5 questions?
1. Where does the working day start? At the depot (wall terminal or badge), on the site (badge at a pole, or app), or in the vehicle (vehicle registration)?
2. Does everyone have a work phone? If not, or if clients ban phones on site, plan badges for those workers.
3. Is there coverage on your sites? Check how the app behaves offline and when it sends the data.
4. Which records must come out of it? Site attendance for the RSZ, hours for payroll, or both. One registration should feed both.
5. Can you show it is fair and proportionate? No biometrics, one clear source of hours per person, a written policy, and updated work regulations.
If the answer to question 1 is “in several places”, you already know you need more than one method.
How do you mix methods for mixed teams?
Most Belgian construction and transport companies have crews, drivers, workshop staff and office staff under one roof. One device for everyone rarely works. A practical split:
| Group | Method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Site crews | App, or badge at the site pole | Registration where the work happens |
| Workers without a work phone | Badge | No phone needed |
| Truck and ready-mix drivers | Vehicle registration | The day starts in the cab |
| Workshop and depot staff | Wall terminal with badge | Fixed location |
| Office staff | App or web | No hardware |
The rule that makes this work: all methods feed one record, with one set of approval rules and one export to payroll. Otherwise you trade one paper problem for four digital ones.
Hooyberghs, part of B&R Bouwgroep, needed a correct registration of more than 300 construction workers over more than 70 construction sites across Belgium, and chose Suivo. “Our staff can sign in easily with their badge,” says Kurt Baggen, Administrative Director. “We estimate this is saving us the equivalent of two FTEs.” Read the B&R Bouwgroep case.
Working in the Netherlands as well? The rules differ. See our guide to time clocks for field teams in the Netherlands. And for a wider market view, see our overview of digital time registration tools in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free prikklok app?
Free time-clock apps exist, but check where the data is stored, whether you can export it to your social secretariat, and whether it records breaks and corrections with a trace. The RSZ has its own free online service for site attendance, which also works on a smartphone, but that records presence for the RSZ, not working hours for payroll.
Is a prikklok mandatory in Belgium?
No. No Belgian law requires a prikklok. The government plans a general working-time registration obligation from 1 January 2027, but as of September 2026 it is a draft law, and the draft does not require a time clock or any specific technology.
How does a prikklok work?
The employee identifies themselves at the start and end of work, with a card, badge, PIN, smartphone or a button in the vehicle. The system stores the time and the person, and the hours are then checked and sent to payroll.
Is clocking in at work mandatory in Belgium?
Not in general, as of September 2026. It is mandatory for attendance on certain construction and cleaning sites, and deviations from a part-timer’s published schedule must be recorded. A general obligation is planned for 2027 but is not yet law.
Pick the method per team, keep one record
Start with the group that costs you the most admin today, often site crews or drivers. Add badges, apps or vehicle registration for the others without replacing what already works. We will show you which method fits each team, and where a simpler option is enough.
