Working-time records: a statutory duty

Obligation to record working time

Since the CJEU ruling of 14 May 2019 (Case C-55/18, "CCOO"), employers across the entire EU have been obliged to set up an objective, reliable, and accessible system for recording the entire daily working time.

The German Federal Labor Court (BAG) confirmed this for Germany with its decision of 13 September 2022 (ref. 1 ABR 22/21): employers are already now obliged under §3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG to record the working time of their employees — independently of a yet-to-come clarification in the ArbZG.

What must be recorded?

Start of daily working time
End of daily working time
Breaks with their duration
Overtime and additional work
Sunday, public holiday, and night work

The records must be kept for at least 2 years (§16 (2) ArbZG).

How Shiftdesk supports this duty

Shiftdesk offers three tracking modes that you can configure per Location or per employee:

Mode	Description
Self-service	The employee clocks in and out via web or the mobile app
Plan-actual	The planned shift automatically counts as the actual time, with manual correction possible
Hybrid	Pre-planned shift + mandatory clock-in for deviations

All time bookings are stored in a tamper-evident way, with a timestamp and edit history. Corrections are traceable in the audit log.

Export for audits

Under Time tracking → Reports you can export working-time records as PDF or CSV — per employee, team, or period. The 2-year retention period is maintained automatically.

Note

The precise design of the recording obligation may be supplemented by collective agreements or works agreements. When in doubt, consult a lawyer — Shiftdesk does not replace legal advice. Responsibility for compliance remains with the employer.

Legal disclaimer — no warranty

Shiftdesk helps you organize working hours, shifts and staff data. The notices shown here on the German Working Hours Act (ArbZG), the Federal Leave Act (BUrlG), the minimum wage, Minijob thresholds, tax and social-security topics, and country-specific rules in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are intended solely as informational guidance. They do not constitute legal advice, tax advice or social-security advice within the meaning of § 2 of the Legal Services Act (§ 2 RDG).

Collective agreements, works agreements, industry-specific exemptions (for example under § 5 (2) ArbZG) and cantonal or country-specific rules may deviate from the standard values shown here. Statutory thresholds (e.g. the minimum wage or the Minijob earnings limit) change regularly; we accept no warranty as to their accuracy or completeness.

For binding information, please consult a specialist lawyer, a tax advisor, a payroll service provider or the Minijob-Zentrale. Liability for decisions made on the basis of these notices is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

11-hour rest period between shifts

Legal notice — without warranty

German Working Hours Act (ArbZG) basics

The German Working Hours Act (ArbZG) sets the framework for working hours, breaks, and rest periods. It applies to almost all dependently employed people in Germany. Shiftdesk automatically checks schedules against the most important provisions as a plausibility aid.

Using the compliance checker in the dashboard

The compliance checker continuously reviews your schedules against applicable labor law. You reach it via the main navigation:

Break rules in DACH (DE/AT/CH)

Break rules differ between Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Shiftdesk takes the country of each Location into account and validates breaks automatically as a plausibility aid.

Mini-job limits (€520 / 120 days)

A **mini-job** (marginal employment) is a form of employment in Germany that benefits from preferential social-security treatment. There are two variants:

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