From the verdict of Federal Labor Court (BAG) in September 2022 it’s certain: Employers in Germany are obliged to record the working hours of their employees. This applies to all sectors and company sizes, regardless of whether it is classic office work, field service or craft work.
The obligation derives directly from the Law on Safety and Health at Work and a ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of May 2019, which obliges all European member states to adopt a law. The law must make objective, reliable and accessible recording of working time mandatory.
One of yours Time Recording Act Although it does not yet exist in Germany, 2025 was characterized by intense political debate. The focus: the question, how registration should be carried out. It’s not entirely clear whether the law should apply to electronic time recording for everyone, including small businesses and senior employees.
Many companies have used the year 2025 to digitize existing processes and make it legally secure. The direction is clear: the obligation of timekeeping remains unchanged, the bill just wants to make it more concrete.
Outlook for 2026: what’s next?
The new federal government is expected to finally take up the project next year. The aim is to transform the existing BAG ruling into an independent ruling Time Recording Act transfer. It is expected that this:
- electronic time recording systems set as default,
- Exceptions for small businesses define,
- Storage and testing obligations regulate clearly,
- AND digital solutions encourage more
For companies this means:
Those who already use a digital time recording system today are: optimally prepared and no longer needs to make fundamental changes. Those still working with Excel or sheets of paper will be under pressure to act when the law comes into force.
Germany finally needs digital recording of working hours
“The last thing Germany needs is less digitalisation,” says Frederik Neuhaus, CEO and co-founder of clockin, a tool for digital recording of working time. «Since the 2023 bill there has been little movement on the topic of recording working time. Digital recording of working time could save a lot of paperwork and inefficient administrative processes. The new federal government should therefore get the project out of the drawer as quickly as possible.
- Efficiency and digitalisation: Germany is still considered underdigitized. According to Bitkom, more than a quarter of German companies use Excel or pen and paper to record times. This leads to errors, data loss and enormous administrative efforts.
- Worker protection: Tamper-proof digital time recording is the most effective protection against minimum wage fraud and unfair working conditions. Only when times are documented in a transparent and automatic way can there be real fairness for employers and employees.
clockin as a digital solution for medium-sized businesses
While we discuss politics, many companies have been moving alone for some time: with them clocking Medium-sized companies in Germany digitize working time recording effortlessly and without an IT project.
The app meets all the requirements of the BAG ruling and optimally prepares companies for the next time recording law:
- Compliant with the law and tamper-proof
- Minute-by-minute recording of work, project and break times
- Mobile use: Ideal for crafts, care, building cleaning and field service
- Continuous interfaces for payroll accounting (DATEV, Lexware Office, etc.)
- Ready to use right out of the box, with no training or IT effort
“Every day we see that with clocking, companies not only become legally secure, but also more efficient,” says Neuhaus. “The digital recording of time is not an end in itself: it is the lever for a modern world of work.”