diff --git a/tmss_pycommon/datetimeutils.py b/tmss_pycommon/datetimeutils.py
index 83e98c5bc4674f794cd5219dd0e98f3d3994f15e..c2cd052fb5eab953f6339599ed054c2ca8a97459 100644
--- a/tmss_pycommon/datetimeutils.py
+++ b/tmss_pycommon/datetimeutils.py
@@ -45,9 +45,7 @@ def format_timedelta(td: timedelta) -> str:
 
 def parseDatetime(date_time: str) -> datetime:
     """ Parse the datetime format used in LOFAR parsets. """
-    timestamp = datetime.strptime(date_time, ('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f' if '.' in date_time else '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'))
-    timestamp.tzinfo = timezone.utc # LOFAR uses UTC
-    return timestamp
+    return datetime.strptime(date_time, ('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f' if '.' in date_time else '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')).replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc) # LOFAR uses UTC
 
 def formatDatetime(timestamp: datetime) -> str:
     """ Format the timestamp as used in LOFAR parsets. """