What the obligation to record working hours means for the home office
Created: 09/20/2022, 08:48
By: Jana Stäbener
Thanks to the ruling on the recording of working hours by the Federal Labor Court, too much overtime could soon be over.
But what does the judgment mean for the home office?
Trust is good, control is better: At least that's what the Federal Labor Court thinks and decided that companies will be obliged to record their employees' working hours in the future.
According to the
German Press Agency (dpa)
, the court justified its decision with the time clock judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which obliged the EU countries to record working times "objectively, reliably and accessible" as early as 2019.
But what does the judgment mean for the "working world of the future", which according to working parents still looks bleak?
BuzzFeed News DE
from IPPEN.MEDIA asked an expert for digital time recording and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).
The time clock ruling will make it compulsory to record working hours in the future
On Tuesday, September 13, the highest German labor judges made the decision on the new time clock verdict.
In Germany there is an obligation to record working hours.
According to the German Working Hours Act,
only overtime and Sunday work have to be documented so far
.
The President of the Federal Labor Court, Inken Gallner, said in the court hearing: "Time recording is also protection against external exploitation and self-exploitation." Even young people of Generation Z already have burnouts and work too much overtime.
Anja Piel, board member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), also sees advantages in an obligation to record working hours.
“The DGB and its member unions welcome this decision.
This statement is long overdue: the working hours of the employees are getting more and more out of hand, the number of overtime hours worked has remained at a worryingly high level for years. it says in a statement to the editors.
What does the obligation to record working hours mean for the home office?
According to the Tagesschau
, experts assume
that the time clock ruling will have far-reaching effects on the previous trust-based working time models - including mobile work and home office.
The DGB sees no danger there: "The verdict in no way means the end of trust-based working hours and home office - that's a ghost debate.
Trust-based working hours and home office are still possible,” says Piel.
According to Piel, companies must also offer time recording in the home office.
“After all, we live in the digital 21st century and time tracking is easier than ever.
In any case, it does not at all contradict the need of many employees for flexible working hours, quite the opposite.
Because the recording of working hours should not be equated with being in one place - for example the office." Even when the home office obligation ended, the DGB campaigned for employees "not to be forced into the office".
In the home office: "The demand for digital time recording systems could increase"
Markus Schunk is CEO of the IT company "HRworks", which offers personnel systems for digital time recording.
Like Piel, he also believes that it shouldn't matter whether an employee is in the office or working from home.
"I don't think employees need to worry about their right to work from home.
If companies refuse to invest in digital time recording, then they are simply not up-to-date.” Companies that want to be up-to-date must also be aware of the 5 things that motivate people the most in their job.
Schunk also sees an advantage for his entire industry in the judgment of the Federal Labor Court.
"The demand for digital time recording systems could increase," he says in an interview with
BuzzFeed News DE
.
“It's very simple with our software for time recording: There is a kind of digital stamp and when you go on your lunch break or after work, you simply press the 'Out' button.
You don't have to be in the office for that, you just have to be at the laptop."
For the digital expert, the law brings one thing above all: transparency for employees and companies.
"Overtime becomes visible more quickly and this gives both sides the opportunity to take countermeasures and improve the work situation," Schunk told
BuzzFeed News DE
.
However, trust remains important – just like the employment contracts.
"In a start-up, the employees will certainly still have to work overtime even after this legal ruling," Schunk suspects.
"In the end, there is always dialogue between employer and employee - but then within certain limits."
Speaking of working hours: Here are 7 tweets that tear up the BDI boss’s proposal for a “42-hour week”.
