Recording working time in Germany has been mandatory since 2022, not from the new law
Most write-ups say the obligation arrives with the amendment to the Working Time Act. It does not. The obligation already exists; what is being legislated is its form.
The short answer
Employers in Germany have been required to record their employees' working time since the Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21). The court derived the duty from section 3(2) no. 1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, so it applies without any further change in the law. What is open is not whether but how: a ministerial draft amending the Working Time Act would require electronic recording, and it has not been adopted.
What already applies
Four points that hold regardless of the amendment.
- The Court of Justice of the EU ruled in 2019 (C-55/18) that member states must oblige employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system for measuring working time.
- The Federal Labour Court established that duty for Germany on 13 September 2022. It has applied ever since, with no transition period and no new statute.
- Section 16(2) of the Working Time Act has long required hours worked beyond eight per day to be recorded, and those records to be kept for at least two years.
- No particular format is prescribed today. Paper and spreadsheets are permitted, as long as the record is objective and verifiable.
Who it covers
Under the law as it stands, and under the draft.
- Today the duty applies in principle to every employer and every employee, whatever the size of the business.
- The draft carves out exceptions: businesses under ten employees, domestic staff in private households and certain posted workers.
- Senior executives within the meaning of the Working Time Act remain outside it. The term is narrower than everyday usage suggests.
- The works council has a say in how recording is implemented, though not in whether it happens, because that is a statutory duty.
What has to be recorded
The draft names it explicitly; practice already assumes it.
- The start of daily working time.
- The end of daily working time.
- The duration of daily working time, meaning hours excluding breaks.
- Recording should as a rule happen on the day the work is done, not retroactively at the end of the month.
- Retention: at least two years under section 16(2) of the Working Time Act.
Transition periods in the draft
Staggered by headcount. The clock only starts if and when the law takes effect.
Up to 50 employees
5 years
The longest window in the draft. Businesses under ten employees would be exempt altogether.
Up to 250 employees
2 years
The middle tier. Anyone already recording digitally is unaffected by it.
Over 250 employees
1 year
The shortest window. Large employers would move to electronic recording first.
As of 22 August 2026: the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs presented the draft on 17 June 2026. It is treated as an internal working draft. There is no cabinet decision and the parliamentary process has not begun, so both the content and the timing could still change fundamentally. Check the current status before you plan around these dates.
How to tell whether a system qualifies
Four requirements that follow from the case law and the draft.
- Objective: time is measured, not remembered and typed in afterwards.
- Reliable: later edits stay visible and are attributable to a person.
- Accessible: the employee can see their own hours, not only the manager.
- Exportable: the records have to remain available for two years, including after you change vendor.
Worktivity records start, end, breaks and idle time automatically through a desktop application and turns them into exportable timesheets. One note on retention: data stays in the system for three, six or twelve months depending on the plan. You meet the statutory two-year retention through regular exports, not through how long the product stores it.
Questions people ask
The questions employers actually raise at this point.
Is recording mandatory now, or only from 2026?
It is already mandatory. The Federal Labour Court established that on 13 September 2022, deriving the duty from occupational safety law. The amendment to the Working Time Act would not introduce the obligation; it would prescribe the electronic form.
Are spreadsheets or paper enough?
Under the law as it stands, yes, as long as the record is objective and verifiable. The draft would require electronic recording, with staggered transition periods. Recording on paper today is not unlawful, but it would have to change later.
What happens if we do not record?
The state supervisory authorities can order recording, and breaches of the duty under section 16 of the Working Time Act are regulatory offences. The heavier practical consequence is evidential: without your own record it is hard to rebut an employee's account of overtime.
Does the works council have to agree?
Not on whether to record, because that is a statutory duty. On how, yes: which system, which data, which reports. In practice the works agreement is negotiated at this point, and it is worth doing that before rollout rather than after.
Does the duty apply to remote work?
Yes. Where the work happens changes nothing about the duty. This is exactly where recording by memory or calendar falls apart, because nobody observes the start and the end.
This text is orientation, not legal advice. It describes the position as of 22 August 2026. Whether your particular implementation meets the requirements is for your legal counsel to assess; the product produces the record, not the legal opinion.
Time recording that produces the evidence itself
Start, end and breaks are measured rather than remembered. Fourteen days, no credit card.