Knowledge · frequently asked questions
The questions we get most often.
General
- Can a worker register without their own smartphone?
- Yes. With a personal Multi-Track badge, the worker registers via NFC or QR code on a central device or on the smartphone of the team leader or site manager. The same badge contains both NFC and a QR code and is personalised and produced by Multi-Track.
- How does registering with an NFC badge work?
- The worker holds their personal badge against a suitable NFC-enabled device. Rest breaks can also be registered this way. For statutory presence registration, each record is processed and followed up until the final NSSO response, including any error messages and rejections. Records used solely for internal time tracking are not sent to the NSSO.
- How does registering with a QR code work?
- The personal QR code on the badge is scanned with the camera of a central device or of the team leader's or site manager's smartphone. According to the conformity check carried out, the registration methods are NSSO-compliant.
- Who has to check in and out?
- For cleaning, the obligation applies to people carrying out certain cleaning activities on immovable property for third parties, where the applicable declaration and threshold conditions are met. This includes employees, self-employed workers, temporary agency workers and trainees performing these activities, including through subcontractors. They register the start and end of their activities and their rest breaks themselves. Company size or joint committee alone therefore does not determine whether the obligation applies. In construction, presence registration through Checkinatwork currently applies at workplaces where the total value of the works is at least €500,000 excluding VAT. According to the NSSO notice of 30 July 2026, IN and OUT registration will also apply from 1 April 2027 to works on immovable property, excluding cleaning, and deliveries of ready-mixed concrete at workplaces subject to the same threshold. The construction rules do not require rest breaks to be registered.Official source: NSSO — cleaning scopeOfficial source: NSSO — extension from 1 April 2027
- How do you know someone was really at the work location?
- With every registration, a geofence confirms that the employee is at the stated location. The GPS privacy policy is configurable, so you register no more than necessary.
- Which certificate is used to sign the declarations?
- Your own company's NSSO certificate. We store it encrypted and use it solely to sign your declarations.
- What happens if the NSSO rejects a declaration?
- Every declaration is tracked until it is definitively accepted or rejected. In case of a rejection, you see in plain language what went wrong, so it can be corrected.
- Does the app also work for employees who don't speak Dutch?
- Yes. The app is multilingual and works with a short PIN login, so checking in and out takes one tap in the employee's own language.
- Can a supervisor manage registrations directly?
- Yes. In the web portal you can search and filter registrations, and also check people in and out directly, with roles and rights per manager.
- Can several workers use one central device?
- Yes. Each worker registers themselves using their personal badge with both NFC and a QR code on a compatible shared device. Each record remains individually linked to that worker. Time tracking
- Can Checkinandoutatwork.be be used for internal time tracking?
- Yes, in every sector: offices, warehouses, logistics, workshops, manufacturing and sites. Record start and end times and breaks, then view net hours in the web platform. Time tracking
- Are internal time records automatically sent to the NSSO?
- No. Records used solely for internal time tracking are not sent to the NSSO. Statutory presence records are sent when the applicable sectoral rules require it. Time tracking
- Can I monitor net working hours and breaks?
- Yes. The system processes recorded breaks and automatically calculates net hours by deducting them. This internal tracking does not make break registration legally mandatory in construction. Time tracking
- Can I report hours by employee and site?
- Yes. The online web platform offers reports by employee, site or location, team and period. You can monitor hours on a particular site and a team's working hours and presence duration. Time tracking
- Can I use the system for office staff too?
- Yes. Internal time tracking is not limited to construction or cleaning. Office staff and employees at other business locations can register using the the app or a badge with both NFC and a QR code too. Time tracking
- Why should a construction business start before April 2027?
- To monitor hours, breaks and net hours by employee, site and team today. Reports support project monitoring, actual cost analysis and cost control while you prepare your registration process for sectoral changes. Time tracking
Cleaning
- Does the obligation also apply to small cleaning companies?
- Yes. In professional cleaning (joint committee 121) the obligation applies regardless of company size, including for subcontractors and temporary workers.
- Our teams work at many different locations each day. Is that supported?
- Yes. Every location is set up as its own workplace with its own geofence. Employees check in and out at each location, and everything comes together in one overview.
- How do employees register when they clean in the evening or at night?
- In the same way: with a short PIN login in the app, also outside office hours. The declaration is sent to the NSSO automatically within the legal deadline.
- What about cleaning in buildings with poor mobile coverage?
- The registration is stored on the device and sent as soon as there is a connection again, so the check-in and check-out times stay correct.
- Do we have to follow up our subcontractors' registrations?
- In cleaning, registrations for subcontractors and temporary workers are mandatory too. You see them in the same overview, so you know who was actually present.
- What changes from 1 September 2024?
- Since 1 January 2024 an extended notification obligation applies to maintenance and cleaning works on buildings, regardless of the value of the works or the use of subcontractors. The NSSO launched the online service Check In and Out at Work for this; registering was already possible from January 2024, but the obligation itself only takes effect from 1 September 2024 (subject to two Royal Decrees still to be published).
- What does presence registration involve?
- All natural persons at a workplace with maintenance or cleaning activities must register: employees, self-employed people, (sub)contractors, temporary workers, posted workers, apprentices and trainees. They check in at the start of their activities and out at the end, and also at the start and end of rest breaks. Employers and clients share the responsibility: they must inform staff, provide a registration system and ensure correct data transfer to the NSSO — but they may not register themselves or in advance on behalf of the person doing the work. When moving to another workplace, checking in and out has to be done again.
- For which works is registration mandatory?
- For maintenance or cleaning activities that clean immovable property for a third party — so specifically joint committee 121 (cleaning), but also other sectors that meet that definition. A Declaration of Works must always be made as well, since 2024 without a threshold amount. It does not apply to: public and private sectors cleaning with their own staff, sports associations (non-profits) using a volunteer or association worker, and service voucher companies (JC 322.01).
- What are the possible sanctions?
- Non-compliance can be punished with a level 1 or level 3 sanction: an administrative fine of €400 to €4,000, or a criminal fine of €800 to €8,000, each time multiplied by the number of employees concerned.
- How do you register?
- Either through the NSSO's electronic application, or through Multi-Track's registration system. Recorded are: the identity of the person, the employer, any intermediary party, the capacity (status) of the person, the address of the workplace and the times (start and end, breaks included).
- Who has to provide the registration system?
- The client must provide the device to subcontractors, unless an equivalent alternative is agreed contractually. Every (sub)contractor must both use the device and pass it on to its own subcontractors, and must ensure that self-employed people have a compatible means of registration. The employer is responsible for issuing badges to its employees. For temporary workers these obligations rest with the user (the hiring company).
- What if a mistake is made?
- Employees must report errors to their employer within 30 days of the registration date. Within that same 30 days the employer can request a correction from the NSSO, with supporting evidence.
- What is the legal basis?
- Programme Act of 26/12/2022, title 4, chapter 1 (art. 22–48) and chapter 2 (art. 49, §9 art. 30bis of the act of 27/06/1969).
Construction
- From when do construction companies also have to check out?
- According to the NSSO (notice of 30 July 2026), the IN and OUT obligation for works on immovable property takes effect on 1 April 2027. Registering today means being ready in time.
- Does registration apply on every site?
- Today registration applies on sites above the legal threshold. We set up each site as a workplace with a geofence, so nothing has to be followed up manually.
- Do subcontractors on our site have to register too?
- Yes. Every company in the chain registers its own employees. As main contractor you see in one overview who was actually present on site.
- What about chain liability?
- You remain co-responsible for correct registration throughout the chain. The overview per site and per company helps you spot missing registrations quickly.
- Does the extension also cover the delivery of ready-mixed concrete?
- Yes, the extension does cover the delivery of ready-mixed concrete. It does not cover cleaning activities, which have their own regime.
- What exactly changes in construction on 1 April 2027?
- Alongside arrival (IN), departure (OUT) must also be registered electronically, at the moment itself and on site; registering presences in advance will no longer be possible. Read more about check-out registration in construction
- Does every worker have to check in and out themselves?
- Yes. From 1 April 2027, the person present on the site registers their own arrival and departure. A site manager can no longer do this in advance for the whole crew. How to approach it: individual check-in on site
- How do subcontractors register from 2027?
- Registration of arrival and departure also applies to subcontractors' workers. Responsibility lies with whoever puts someone to work and with whoever carries out the works; have the exact liability checked by your social secretariat or a lawyer. See our guide on subcontractor registration
- Can workers register with their smartphone?
- Yes, with an app workers register their own presence on site using their smartphone. Those who do not use a smartphone can register with a personal badge with both NFC and a QR code. Agree in advance on which device is used and on privacy. Read more about smartphone registration on site
- Official NSSO app or external software: which do you choose?
- You register through the official NSSO online service, or through external software that registers via the NSSO REST web service. External software does not remove the legal responsibility of the parties involved. A comparison: NSSO app or software
- Which sites fall under the new check-out obligation?
- According to the NSSO (notice of 30 July 2026), it concerns immovable property works from € 500,000 excluding VAT and the delivery of ready-mixed concrete. Cleaning has its own rules. Everything about presence registration in construction from 2027