Compliance: the duty to record working time
The duty to record the entire working time of all employees is not a future topic. It applies now, and the employer carries the risk.
1. The legal position
The European Court of Justice, in case C-55/18 (CCOO v Deutsche Bank), held that employers must set up an objective, reliable and accessible system for measuring the daily working time of their employees.
In 2022 the Federal Labour Court (BAG) confirmed that this duty applies in Germany: the entire working time of all employees must be recorded, not just overtime.
2. What this means for practice owners
- Fines and back-pay claims. Former employees can claim hours that you cannot document.
- Customs inspections. The Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit can request records going back two years.
- Personal responsibility. As practice owner you are the employer.
- Evidence in a dispute. Without reliable records, defences that rely on time records carry no weight.
3. How MINUTUS implements the rules
MINUTUS takes the following rules of the German Working Hours Act (ArbZG) into account:
| Rule | Provision | Behaviour in MINUTUS |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum 10 hours working time per day | §3 ArbZG | Live warning to the employee at 9 h 45 min, alert at 10 h. |
| Mandatory break after 6 hours | §4 ArbZG | Advisory warning to the employee at 5 h 45 min, alert at 6 h. |
| 11 h rest between shifts | §5 ArbZG | Recorded and available in the audit log and in reports. |
| Immutable records | §16 ArbZG | Server-side timestamps, an immutable audit log and a monthly printout with letterhead and signature lines. |
4. Technical integrity of the records
- Every timestamp is generated by the database, never by the browser; manipulation on the client side is technically impossible.
- Every manual change is recorded in an audit log that can only be appended to, never changed or deleted.
- Corrections follow the four-eyes principle; approval is recorded with name and time.
- The audit log can be exported as a PDF, grouped by employer and with a letterhead.
This page describes MINUTUS features in the context of the legal position. It is not legal advice. Please clarify questions about your specific situation with your legal counsel.