Special labor law requirements apply to companies in the meat processing industry. One of the central obligations concerns mandatory time tracking. The basis for this is the Act to Safeguard Employee Rights in the Meat Industry (GSA Fleisch), which defines stricter industry-specific requirements than general working time legislation.
Working time recording in the meat industry is a key component of everyday working life in slaughterhouses, butchers’ shops and processing plants. It is often the first step in the digital transformation of the industry and brings tangible benefits. Instead of handwritten timesheets and paper-based lists, modern, digital solutions are used – efficient, clear and up-to-date.
ZMI supports you with the introduction of this digital time management system. Our solution has a modular structure and can be flexibly adapted to the requirements of your butcher’s store or processing company.
GSA Meat as a binding legal basis for time tracking
The Act to Safeguard Employee Rights in the Meat Industry (GSA Fleisch) was introduced to eliminate structural shortcomings in the meat industry and to effectively enforce compliance with occupational health and safety regulations. A key instrument here is the mandatory electronic recording of working hours.
According to § 6 GSA Meat, companies in the meat industry are obliged to comply:
- The start, end and duration of the daily working time must be recorded electronically,
- document the working time on the day the work is actually performed,
- store the recorded data in a tamper-proof manner,
- to keep the evidence for at least two years and
- to make the data available to the supervisory authorities on request.
Paper-based timesheets, Excel lists or retrospective collective records are therefore not permitted. The obligation applies regardless of the size of the company and particularly affects companies in the:
- Slaughter,
- Disassembly and
- Meat processing.
Clear obligation for companies in the meat industry
No freedom of choice for time tracking
In contrast to many other sectors, there is no freedom of organization here:
- Trust-based working hours are excluded
- Blanket time assumptions are inadmissible
- Working hours must be recorded objectively, completely and promptly
Companies bear full responsibility for proper documentation, especially in the case of audits.
High control density and risk of sanctions
The meat industry is a particular focus of the authorities. Violations of the GSA Meat can lead to:
- severe fines,
- Back payments of working time and remuneration,
- Complaints during customs and occupational health and safety inspections and
- as a result of lasting reputational damage
lead. Legally compliant time tracking is therefore not an administrative issue, but a key compliance factor.
Recording directly in everyday production
Working time recording must be designed in such a way that it:
- can be used directly at the workplace,
- works reliably even during shift work and changing operating times and
- is actually applied by all employees.
Theoretical or complicated solutions often do not meet the legal requirements in practice.
Why many standard solutions do not do justice to GSA meat
General time recording systems often reach their limits in the meat industry because they:
- are not designed for production environments in the food industry due to a lack of suitable recording hardware,
- protective measures such as hygiene sluices or systems for separating people cannot be combined with time tracking,
- do not offer sufficient security against manipulation,
- do not provide clear, audit-proof evidence during audits or
- working time models in shift operation.
Companies therefore need a solution that reflects legal requirements and operational reality in equal measure.
ZMI time tracking as an all-round solution
With ZMI, you can scale your time tracking software as you need it. Whether stationary at the terminal, on the web, via app or in the cloud – time tracking can be flexibly adapted to the processes of your meat processing plant. Our extensions offer you further comprehensive options to make your everyday life easier, such as staff scheduling and access control.
Thanks to our ecosystem, you also benefit from useful interfaces, e.g. to payroll programs, to provide even more support for your day-to-day work.
You too can benefit from the advantages of digital time tracking with ZMI and start now with a flexible, modern solution for your meat industry business. Contact us or use the QuickCheck to find out which time tracking system is right for you:
