In principle, the employer is not obliged to record employees’ working times, regardless of the method used. However, according to §16 para. 2 ArbZG the obligation to record the overtime worked by employees. In practice, time recording systems are therefore often introduced to fulfill this obligation. However, it is also permissible to “pass on” this obligation to employees by having them document their working hours themselves.
The employer’s time recording system must also make it possible to monitor an employee’s average working hours. The Working Hours Act stipulates a maximum working time of 48 hours per week on average over a six-month period. Such regulations must always be verifiable.
Further regulations:
The employer is obliged to keep a record of the working hours of employees that exceed the working day in accordance with §3 sentence 1 and to keep a list of employees who have consented to an extension of working hours in accordance with §7 para. 7. The evidence must be kept for at least two years.
Control of working hours
On the one hand, monitoring working time is important for monitoring employees. After all, only the time actually worked should be paid. On the other hand, it is also an obligation under occupational health and safety law to record and monitor working time correctly.
Violations of the applicable working time regulations and data protection laws can be expensive for the employer.
On May 14, 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that employers are obliged to systematically record the daily working hours of their employees.
