Labour law & regulations

Why do I need to record work hours in Germany?

Recently, there have been quite a few developments in German labour law. Much of this has to do with the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of May 14^th, 2019, stating that all employers within the European Union must set up a system to measure working hours of their Employees.

All countries within the European Union have to formulate and implement the ECJ ruling as they see fit, as long as the law states that all employers must set up an objective, reliable, and accessible system to record the time worked each day by employees. Germany has been one of the first countries to firmly respond to this ruling, following the ECJ with a ruling by the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeidsgericht, or in short, BAG) and a new law that is currently drafted.

Working hours must be recorded

Like in many other countries, working culture in Germany has changed substantially through flexible hours and hybrid working. Naturally, laws have to be updated to our changing realities. With the BAG’s decision from September 13, 2022, it has become clear that it is truly no longer a question of WHETHER working hours must be recorded but HOW. The ruling also touches on many (legal) aspects, including time registration, the obligation to keep records, data security, or the possible costs of implementing a new system.

In April 2023, the German Federal Ministry of Labour presented a draft for the revision of the Working Hours Act based on the BAG ruling. The draft law is now being coordinated within the federal government. The draft law provides that the employer is obliged to electronically record the beginning, end, and duration of the daily working time on the day the work is performed. The future will make it clear what the final iteration of the law will be. Logically, it should be in line with the BAG ruling, but of course, the details have yet to be worked out.

How can TimeMoto help you?

As stated in this article, each country within the European Union can implement the ECJ ruling and formulate specifications as they see fit. Our TimeMoto time and attendance solutions are so flexible that they can cover it all.

TimeMoto offers the ultimate solution to register working hours and manage your workforce reliably. Our beautifully designed time clock systems provide accessible clocking using advanced methods such as RFID, MIFARE, DESFire fingerprints and face recognition. Your employees can clock in and out within seconds while you can monitor and measure their working hours in real time with TimeMoto Cloud.

To guarantee full transparency, TimeMoto Cloud provides a clear audit trail of all clocking events. It offers many features that help you manage and plan absences, holidays, and overtime. View reports on worked hours and receive notifications to stay up to date. Our TimeMoto time and attendance solutions are so flexible that they can cover all local implementations of labour law within, as well as outside, the EU. Taking account of your local labour laws, TimeMoto helps you comply with a system that is easy to use while providing you with all the insights you need to stay on top of time & attendance.

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