The Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) has ruled that existing German legislation, interpreted together with European Union (EU) law, requires employers to establish a system to record their employees’ daily working time. Though Germany-specific, the decision also raises questions for employers with operations in other EU member states.
Background:
The BAG ruling is clear on certain points based on current legislation, less so on others:
Starting immediately, all employers are obliged to record their employees’ working time precisely. According to the BAG ruling, this refers to the beginning, duration and ending of working time. Though formal legislation is pending, employers should review and possibly adapt their time recording system. More broadly, employers across the EU are advised to review national standards for recording working time as they relate to the 2019 ECJ ruling in those EU states where they have operations and to evaluate the robustness of their time recording processes.