Whether online, by time clock, in an Excel list or not at all – every company handles working time recording differently, because there has been little clarity on time recording in the workplace in Germany to date. Until now, there has been no law that obliges German companies to document the exact working hours of their employees. This is now officially changing: the Federal Labour Court has ruled that companies in Germany will be obliged to record the working hours of their employees from October 2022.
However, recording working hours is not difficult and there are a lot of digital alternatives to paperwork.
We have summarized everything you need to know about time tracking and explain why a software-based time tracking system is better for both employers and employees.
Working time recording at EU level: How it all began
Each EU country has national laws that regulate the labour market and conditions. According to this, decisions taken at EU level can have an impact on national laws. This is currently the case with time tracking. Already in 2019 , the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that employers are now obliged to systematically document the working hours of their employees. The ECJ ruling also provided that EU states must implement this regulation in their labour laws – but without specifying any deadline. This issue finally reached a climax when a Spanish trade union filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank in Spain. This lawsuit was about the demand to make working time recording legally mandatory. However, Spanish labour law had not provided for such a law. As a result, the ECJ’s ruling triggered a Europe-wide debate, as many EU states had previously had no legal regulation regarding time recording in their labour law system.
In Germany, too, there were still uncertainties as to whether to act according to the ECJ ruling or to continue to proceed as before. After all, there has not yet been an official change to the German labor law.
The legal situation in Germany
In September 2020, the Federal Labour Court (BAG) finally ruled to introduce an obligation to record working hours.
In doing so, the court refers to Section 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Section 3 (2) No. 1 ArbSchG). This obliges the employer to “take the necessary occupational health and safety measures, taking into account the circumstances that affect the safety and health of employees at work”. Thus, it is now officially clarified that German companies are obliged to document the working hours of their employees. However, the German government has not defined how companies should implement this.
Why is time tracking important?
Especially during the pandemic, when many workers had to switch from the office to the home office, more flexible working hours and breaks are important. In the meantime, home office is no longer a former dream, but socially acceptable. When the children are hopping around the apartment, it can be a real challenge to stick to fixed working hours. Therefore, some people simply find it difficult to keep track of the hours when work and leisure time suddenly blur together. In addition, careful time recording facilitates both payroll accounting and bookkeeping and creates transparency about the working hours of the workforce. The administrative effort is minimized and the HR department can focus on other important tasks. In addition, in addition to regular time tracking, project time tracking is also becoming increasingly important in many companies. With such a function, individual projects or project-related working hours can also be recorded – closely linked to regular time recording. Learn more about Microsoft’s project management tool here.
What are the options for time tracking?
In the following, we present a software-based solution that enables working time tracking. Of course, you can also document time tracking manually, but we recommend a more careful and transparent way. Therefore, we explain why this is so important and present a special Microsoft solution.
Digital Time Recording – with HR Management for Microsoft Dynamics 365
HR Management for Microsoft Dynamics 365 doesn’t just offer a digital time tracking system – it’sa complete solution for the entire HR department. From time management, recruiting, and the management of vacation and absence to retirement – HR Management for Microsoft Dynamics 365 automates and digitizes all HR processes on one platform. Whether in Outlook, in the browser or mobile with all common devices, it can be used from anywhere. This means that there are no more data islands, because all data is only recorded once in one system.
However, the following is the Time Management module in the foreground. It offers all the functions to record and evaluate attendance and work performance by employees or to process them further. Since every company, every employee and every situation is different, different ways of tracking time are required accordingly. In this solution, employees have six different options for time tracking.
Time management & regulations at the workplace
Forcompliance with occupational safety and conditions with breaks and fair working hours. Supervisors and the HR department receive an overview of current attendances at any time and can evaluate all data and correct it if necessary.
Each type of working time can be collected in different time accounts, which can be configured in detail. Thus, e.g. overtime, overtime, night work, etc. can be easily processed. It does not matter which country- or industry-specific standards have to be observed. The solution can also be optimally adapted to the requirements and wishes of the company. Consequently, time accounts make the handling of working hours, overtime and overtime even more flexible and allow HR to view even more detailed analyses of their employees’ working hours. In addition, time accounts can be adjusted individually for each employee in the employment contract.
Standard integrations to common ERP systems as well as to the Dynamics 365 module Project Operations are also directly available. In addition, time management can be integrated into Microsoft Teams, which many companies use anyway and most employees are already familiar with. This is a very practical addition and makes it easier for both managers and employees to record and track working hours and absences.
These are the key features of time management at a glance:
- Complete solution for time recording and production data acquisition (PDA)
- Integrated time management functions
- Mandatory break rules
- Rules for time bookings incl. maximum working time
- Time accounts and overtime
- Current employee attendance at a glance
- Overviews per day, week, month and year
- Transfer of times to payroll
- Automatic de-registration incl. information to the supervisor
- Real-time dashboards and evaluations as well as export to Excel
- Integration with Teams Shift for easy scheduling of shifts
Conclusion – Why choose a software-based time tracking system?
Tablets, smartphones, social networks, cloud computing – technological progress and digitization are enabling companies to break new ground. Time recording is also undergoing a transformation as a result of digitization. Internet-enabled devices and cloud computing make it possible to work anywhere in the world, while rigid working hours continue to dwindle. The manual documentation of working hours is increasingly receding into the background, and with it the administrative effort for HR and employees.
There is now a suitable method for recording and managing working hours for every business model. Since every company works differently these days, independent and flexible time tracking is required. Businesses in particular need technologies that are modular and scalable, such as Microsoft technologies, which are known for their high scalability.
However, especially if the home office means that the workplace is also your own home, you can lose track of hours worked and to be worked.
HR Management for Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be used to ensure a good overview and control of compliance with agreed working hours. If you already work with Microsoft Teams, the “switch” is even easier and the login is only possible with a Windows password.
All in all, careful and systematic time tracking provides companies with more transparency, security and a more comprehensive and better overview. Time tracking is important for both employers and employees, as employers can better assess their resources, while employees no longer lose hours worked.
