According to a judgment of the CJEU, there will soon be a law on time registration in Germany. But how is the data protection requirement?
- The ECJ ruled in 2019 that employers must record the working hours of employees.
- A corresponding law for Germany is currently being worked on.
- But can this data be recorded at all?
In 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) came to a controversial judgment: the member states are required to develop regulations to ensure that working hours are recorded. Specifically, a press release from the ECJ of May 14, 2019 states: "Member States must oblige employers to set up a system that can measure daily working hours." But how is such a regulation compatible with data protection?
What does the ECJ ruling mean for workers in Germany?
Employers are currently not yet obliged to record the working hours of employees * since no corresponding law has yet been passed in Germany . However, the Federal Ministry of Labor is already working on implementing a regulation based on the ECJ judgment . When the law will be final is still unclear.
According to a legal credit commissioned by the ministry, the currently applicable labor law does not require all employers to record the times of employees meticulously, as the Handelsblatt reported, citing the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Accordingly, major changes can be assumed, which require a determination of the total time in the office and any interruptions such as lunch and smoking breaks.
Also read: Does my employer have to give me time off for doctor's appointments?
What is the relationship between working hours and data protection?
In principle, working hours are personal data , which is why data protection also applies - at least in theory. If the legal basis is appropriate, however, it is conceivable to record and save this information, according to the information provided by the Data Protection Supervisor website. Nothing contradicts a law based on the ECJ judgment. A rule that would prevent permanent monitoring of the employee and guarantee the protection of data from third parties would be considered proportionate.
Significant changes in everyday work are to be feared. For example, there is also the question of how the judgment of the ECJ will affect working in the home office *.
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* merkur.de is part of the nationwide central Ippen editorial network.
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