The most important facts about working time recording at a glance
In der EU und Deutschland sind Unternehmen verpflichtet, die Arbeitszeiten ihrer Angestellten transparent zu verwalten. Zu dokumentieren sind Startzeitpunkt, Pausen und Endzeitpunkt der Arbeit, wobei Pausen und Ruhezeiten nicht zur Arbeitszeit gezählt werden. Es gibt verschiedene analoge und digitale Methoden, um die Zeiten zu erfassen. Einfach zu bedienen, verlässlich und kosteneffizient sind lokale digitale Terminals und Softwarelösungen, die mit dem ERP-System verbunden sind.
The legal basis for the obligation to record working hours is currently being revised in Germany.
Objectives of working time recording
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) introduced mandatory working time recording with the aim of protecting the physical and mental health of employees and promoting compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.
In principle, however, recording working hours is in the interests of both employers and employees.
Employers
Companies can use the detailed documentation to check whether their employees are complying with the legally prescribed rest periods, break times and maximum limits for daily working hours – and can fulfill their duty of care and take corrective action in the event of violations. At the same time, tracking working hours gives companies the opportunity to track whether employees are working their contractually agreed working hours.
Employees
Based on the records, employees can clearly see whether they have worked more than the agreed number of hours or whether all overtime has been correctly recorded and taken into account in payroll accounting. They also have a data basis for enforcing their claims in the event of breaches of break and rest time regulations.
Is recording working time mandatory? The current legal situation
Companies in Germany are generally obliged to record the working hours of their employees. However, the legal basis for this is still inadequate.
According to the current Working Hours Act (ArbZG), employers are currently only obliged to provide the following documentation:
- Recording of “working time in excess of the working day of eight hours”
- Recording of working hours, insofar as this is stipulated in company agreements, collective agreements or other laws, such as the Act to Combat Illegal Employment.
However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled (judgment of 14.05.2019) that employers in the EU member states must be obliged to
“. “to establish an objective, reliable and accessible system for measuring the daily working time worked by each employee
The obligation to record working time therefore applies both to work on weekdays and to work on Sundays and public holidays.
The ECJ left the actual implementation into national law to the member states. Germany has not yet revised its law on working time recording. A draft bill for a new Working Hours Act was formulated in 2023, but has not yet been introduced into the legislative process by the government (as of November 2024).
Does this mean that everything will remain the same for companies for the time being? No. The Federal Labor Court already confirmed in September 2022 (13.09.2022, Ref. 1 ABR 22/21) that the ECJ’s decision also applies to Germany. An interpretation of the occupational health and safety regulations in line with European law will therefore come to the conclusion that working hours for employees must already be systematically recorded in Germany.
Companies that have not yet introduced reliable and comprehensive working time recording should take care of implementation now for their own legal security and not wait for the Working Time Act to be updated.
Which employers are obliged to record working hours?
Since the ECJ ruling, the obligation to record working hours applies in principle to all companies regardless of their size and sector. It applies to both part-time and full-time employees .
In some sectors in Germany, comprehensive time recording regulations were already in place before the ECJ ruling, for example in the catering, construction and logistics industries. In most cases, the aim was to ensure compliance with the minimum wage or to prevent undeclared work.
What exceptions apply?
As the Working Hours Act in Germany has not yet been updated following the ECJ ruling, no binding statements can be made. In the current version, the law does not apply to senior employees and activities that require a particularly high degree of flexibility (details: Section 18 ArbZG). It remains to be clarified for which job profiles exceptions should apply in the future.
Is there an exception for contracts in which trust-based working hours have been agreed? This is under discussion. Trust-based working time will probably remain possible in the future if it is brought into line with the obligation to record time. One conceivable model: the employer prescribes weekly or monthly working hours, but leaves it up to the individual to decide how to divide up their working hours. Employees would then be obliged to document the hours they actually work, without having to work a certain number of hours per day.
What are the consequences if companies do not comply with the obligation to record working hours?
Due to the new obligation to document working hours, health and safety authorities can easily request companies to disclose their time recording. This could lead to more frequent audits. It is therefore in the interests of companies to introduce a transparent time recording system and to ensure that their employees use this system correctly and consistently.
In the currently valid version, violations of the Working Hours Act in Germany can be punished with a fine of up to 30,000 euros (from § 22 ArbZG).
Is electronic working time recording mandatory?
In its ruling, the European Court of Justice did not prescribe any specific technology that should be used to implement systems for recording working time. As long as the German legislator does not determine otherwise in the future, employers are free to use paper-based or digital systems.
Data protection: How are working hours processed in compliance with the law?
Der EuGH fordert die Einrichtung von Systemen, bei denen die eingetragenen Arbeitszeiten zugänglich sind. Da es sich bei Arbeitszeiten um personenbezogene Daten handelt, müssen sich Arbeitgeber bei der Verarbeitung an die geltenden Datenschutzregelungen halten. Das ist vor allem die Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO). Hier ihre wichtigsten Grundsätze:
- Data economy: Employers may only record the data that is actually necessary to fulfill the obligation to record working time. This normally includes the start and end of working hours and, if applicable, break times.
- Earmarking: The data collected may not be used for purposes other than recording working hours, such as monitoring performance or behavior.
- Storage period: Working time data should only be stored for as long as necessary. After expiry of the statutory retention periods, which are generally two years, the data must be deleted.
- Data security: Time recording data must be protected against unauthorized access, loss and misuse by technical and organizational measures such as encryption and access controls. Changes to data must be traceable. Access should only be granted to authorized persons, such as the HR department’s administrators or direct superiors.
- Transparency: Employers are obliged to provide their employees with comprehensive information about the processing of their working time data. This includes information on the type of data collected, the purpose of processing, the storage period and the rights that employees can assert in relation to the data (information, authorization, deletion).
Options for recording working hours
There is a lot to be said for using digital systems to track employees’ working hours. However, depending on the degree of digitalization, company size and industry, other models can also be a good choice.
Paper-based time recording
The traditional way of recording working hours is to write them down in pen on a timesheet or attendance list.
The advantages of this method are that companies do not need to invest in expensive equipment or software and employees do not need any technical knowledge to document their hours. The disadvantage: This type of time recording is susceptible to errors and manipulation. Employees can exchange timesheets and make entries regardless of the actual start and end time of their working hours. In addition, manual consolidation, evaluation and archiving require a lot of time.
Working time recording with Excel
The digital successor to the paper timesheet is recording working hours in Excel. It saves investment in specialized software and doesn’t involve much extra work for employees. However, errors can easily occur when entering data. The progress of changes is difficult to monitor and, as with paper slips, data can easily be manipulated.
Stationary time recording
Modern stationary time recording terminals usually work with chip or magnetic cards. Employees insert their card or swipe it through the device to sign in and out. Some devices also allow identification via PIN or biometric face or fingerprint recognition.
Time recording via terminals is simple and less prone to fraud and errors than paper forms or Excel spreadsheets. Another advantage for employers: The recorded data is automatically stored centrally and can therefore be evaluated quickly. However, the time recording terminals and their software are expensive to purchase. The system is therefore particularly suitable for larger companies whose employees work on site. This form of time recording is not suitable for organizations with home office options and field service.
Digital working time recording
Digital working time recording is the most flexible and modern method of recording working hours. It works via mobile apps or web portals. Employees can log into the systems from their computers, smartphones or tablets and keep track of their working hours – regardless of their location. This makes them ideal for companies with decentralized workplaces and a high volume of travel.
The digital solutions not only record working times, they also offer real-time insights into statistics and simplify the comprehensive evaluation of data on breaks, overtime and regular working hours. Companies can use specialized software.
Working time recording in the ERP system
Many ERP systems offer an integrated module for digital working time recording. The big advantage: recording working times is not isolated, but directly linked to other central processes such as HR administration, project management or payroll accounting. Employees can record their times flexibly via web app, mobile or terminals. The data flows into the system in real time. This reduces manual effort, prevents media disruptions and increases transparency.
In addition, legal requirements such as break regulations, maximum working hours or bonus calculations can be mapped automatically. Integration in the ERP system is also a real added value for companies that work with trust-based working time models or project-based time recording – it provides an overview, legal certainty and saves time during evaluation.
Mehr erfahren: So finden Sie das passende ERP-System für Ihr Unternehmen
Selection criteria: Finding the right software
When deciding on a digital time recording system, companies should make sure that the solution meets functional, budgetary and legal requirements. Here are some key aspects you can use to evaluate software:
- Usability: Are even technically inexperienced employees able to use the application easily?
- Recording: Are all required recording channels supported – web app, mobile app or terminal?
- Automation: Should it be possible to log in and out using GPS, card scans or biometrics?
- Working time models: Can the application handle shift work, part-time work, project work and other relevant contract types?
- Compliance: Does the system automatically take into account the legal requirements for break and rest times and maximum working hours?
- Data protection: Can the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation be implemented smoothly?
- Integration: Can the application be linked to ERP and HR systems or do the solutions currently in use offer a module for recording working time?
- Analytics & reporting: What options for data evaluation (real-time analysis, AI-based forecasts, etc.) does the software for working time recording offer?
- Multilingualism: Does the application support all required languages and can it be adapted to time zones?
- Workflow integration: Can the data simply be used to record the approval of vacation and absence times?
- Scalability: Can the application’s capacities be adapted to increasing demand as the company grows?
Artificial intelligence and the future of working time recording
Moderne Softwarelösungen werden in Zukunft immer umfassender künstliche Intelligenz einsetzen. Auf Basis der Algorithmen können Unternehmen die Arbeitszeiterfassung vereinfachen und die Produktivität ihrer Angestellten verbessern.
- AI could soon be monitoring an employee’s activities on the computer in the background. Based on the use of various applications, it would automatically recognize and document when certain tasks are started or completed.
- With the help of intelligent pattern recognition in working times and tasks, AI systems could automatically make suggestions for break times.
- AI systems could send automated warnings in the event of breaches of legal requirements.
- AI is able to create forecasts for demand planning based on historical working time data.
The possibilities are manifold and change the role of working time recording from a pure necessity to a valuable strategic management tool for employee resources and well-being.
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