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Return of the time clock: In the future, employers will not be able to avoid recording the working hours of their employees
Photo: Sina Schuldt / picture alliance / dpa
Now it has been decided by the highest court: According to a ruling by the Federal Labor Court (BAG), there is an obligation to record working hours in Germany, which is currently the subject of heated debate in the traffic light government, in business and among labor law experts.
The President of Germany's highest labor court, Inken Gallner, justified the employer's obligation to systematically record the working hours of their employees with the interpretation of the German Occupational Health and Safety Act after the so-called time clock judgment of the European Court of Justice in May 2019.
Gallner, presiding judge of the First Senate, referred to a passage in the Occupational Health and Safety Act that obliges employers to introduce a system with which the hours worked by employees can be recorded.
"If you interpret the German Occupational Health and Safety Act with the stipulations of the European Court of Justice, then there is already an obligation to record working hours," she said at the hearing.
Experts expect that the BAG judgment (file number: 1 ABR 22/21) can have far-reaching effects on the trust-based working time models that have been practiced thousands of times in business and administration up to mobile work and home office, because this requires more control.
According to the German Working Hours Act, only overtime and Sunday work has to be documented, not the entire working time.
The decision massively strengthens the rights of employees
"Today's decision affects employees throughout Germany - regardless of whether there is a works council or not," says employment lawyer Michael Fuhlrott from Hamburg.
“However, it is still largely unclear how this is to be implemented in detail.”
In this specific case, a works council of a residential facility in the greater Minden area argued with the employer about a company agreement on recording working hours.
Originally, the employer wanted to introduce electronic time recording.
In the course of the negotiations, the company decided against it and broke off the negotiations.
However, the works council felt that the employer had an obligation to negotiate with him.
According to the works council, he has a right of initiative for this question, according to which he can demand the introduction of timekeeping at the employer - even against the will of the employer.
With the decision, the Federal Labor Court also overtakes the legislature, which has not yet created any legal regulations for the implementation of the European requirements.
»It can be assumed that today's decision will also bring new impetus to the legislative process.
Today's decision put the legislature under pressure," says labor law expert Michael Fuhlrott.
flg/dpa
