Who hasn’t experienced this? The to-do list is getting longer, working hours are expanding – and at the end of the month, it turns out that you’ve worked significantly more than planned.
Even in the public sector, overtime is often the order of the day, as a recent case from Lower Saxony illustrates. On February 11, 2025, a former primary school principal was awarded financial compensation by the Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony for working too much. His individual weekly overtime amounted to five hours and 48 minutes; he had claimed eight hours and 42 minutes. The OVG Lower Saxony has now ruled: The teacher is entitled to an additional payment of 31,000 euros for “excess work”. The senate did not allow an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.
This ruling sends a clear signal: Teachers can be paid for working longer than agreed on a permanent basis. Provided they have fully documented their working hours.
However, the ruling is not only exciting for the public sector – the time recording obligation affects all industries.
Why Time & Attendance is indispensable today
With the time recording obligation planned by the legislator (ArbZG-E), there is a fundamental obligation to document the start, end and duration of employees’ daily working hours.
In some companies, timesheets are still used to record times. This approach is time-consuming, error-prone and involves a high administrative burden. That’s why companies are best off switching directly to digital Time & Attendance.
Our digital solution for Time & Attendance
✅ Automatic working time recording – whether in the office, working from home or on the move.
✅ Simple operation – web, app, cloud, terminal: Everything you need.
✅ Legal certainty – 100% legally compliant.
✅ Interfaces – for a holistic approach.
In this article, you can find out how to introduce a time recording tool step by step and what you need to look out for.
