Even 18 months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many employees are still working partially or completely from home.
Companies and organizations have used the time to establish hybrid models or leave it entirely up to their employees to decide where they want to work from.
want to.
Depending on the specific workplace and industry, the scope for design varies.
This is increasingly accompanied by the fact that working hours are being made as flexible as possible by employees – often without the employer’s knowledge.
But is this even permissible and is there not an obligation to record working hours even when working from home? In spring 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that companies within the European Union must document all hours worked by their employees in future.
However, the German legislator has not yet transposed the ruling into national law.
A general obligation to record working hours is therefore not enshrined in the German Working Hours Act (ArbZG), but overtime must be documented (if the working time exceeds the maximum working time of eight hours on weekdays), as well as work on Sundays and public holidays.
This requirement naturally also applies to working from home.
Furthermore, the Working Hours Act (ArbZG) must also be observed when working from home.
Among other things, this stipulates (regardless of the place of work) that the maximum working time per day (10 hours) or per week (48 hours) may not be exceeded.
In addition, the generally applicable regulations on break times and rest periods must also be observed when working from home.
In terms of occupational health and safety, it is therefore all the more important to record the time worked when working from home – because the employer has a duty of care to monitor compliance with the aforementioned regulations and thus ensure the health and safety of its employees.
A modern solution for digital working time recording, which can be used not only in the company but also from the home office or mobile via a smartphone app, can do this.
In addition to compliance with the aforementioned legal provisions, the establishment of such a solution can also optimize cooperation between employees if they can see the current status of their colleagues – such as present, absent or on break – in real time.