Does the obligation to record working time already apply?
Yes. Employers in Germany already have to record their employees' working time. The Federal Labour Court ruled this on 13 September 2022. It derives the obligation from the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Section 3(2) No. 1 ArbSchG), following the European Court of Justice. On 14 May 2019 the ECJ required employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system for measuring daily working time.
The start and end of working time, and therefore its duration including overtime, must be recorded. Only then can it be checked whether maximum hours, breaks and rest periods are being respected.
How must working time be recorded?
Current law does not yet prescribe a specific form. Records can be kept on paper, in a spreadsheet, with a time clock or via an app. The employer may delegate the recording to employees but remains responsible for its being complete and correct.
Trust-based working time remains possible. It means the employer does not dictate when you work. Working time must still be recorded.
What the law already states explicitly
- Section 16(2) ArbZG: working time exceeding 8 hours per working day must be recorded. The records must be kept for at least two years.
- Section 17 MiLoG (Minimum Wage Act): for mini-jobs and for sectors listed in the Act to Combat Undeclared Work (for example construction, hospitality, building cleaning, haulage and logistics), the start, end and duration of daily working time must be recorded by the end of the seventh calendar day after the working day and kept for two years.
- Section 22 ArbZG: violating the recording obligation under Section 16(2) can lead to a fine of up to €30,000.
What is planned?
The government wants to regulate time recording explicitly in the Working Hours Act. Under the Labour Ministry's draft bill of June 2026, the start, end and duration of daily working time would have to be recorded electronically on the day the work is done. The draft combines this with the planned weekly maximum working time for companies covered by collective agreements.
As of September 2026 this is not in force: there is no cabinet decision, and details such as transition periods or exemptions for small businesses may still change. Until then, the obligation from the 2022 ruling applies without a fixed form.
What a good record contains
- Date and day of the week
- Start and end of work
- Length and timing of breaks
- The resulting net working time
- Special cases such as business trips, standby duty or overtime ordered by the employer
Enter the times on the same day if possible. Lists reconstructed from memory afterwards are far less convincing in a dispute.
Why your own records still make sense
Even if your employer records your time, keeping your own overview is worthwhile. In a dispute about overtime pay you still have to show on which days you worked how long and that the employer ordered, approved or tolerated the extra work. The Federal Labour Court confirmed this in 2022. A clean weekly overview gives you the details you need.
The working hours calculator helps: enter your times and email yourself the result. Week by week, this creates a simple log of net working time, breaks and overtime or negative hours. The rules on breaks, maximum hours and rest periods are explained in the guide German Working Hours Act 2026.
This article provides a general overview and does not replace legal advice.