The vast majority of companies in Germany now record their employees’ working hours digitally
Around three quarters of companies in Germany comply with the obligation to record working hours and document their employees’ working hours. 44 percent have appropriate systems in place, 16 percent use Excel spreadsheets and 13 percent still rely on handwritten timesheets. These are the findings of a representative survey of 602 companies with at least 20 employees commissioned by the digital association Bitkom. Just two percent say they are not doing anything for the time being and are waiting for the legal details of the obligation to record working hours to be specified. The study also examined how companies feel about trust-based working hours.
Bitkom President Dr Ralf Wintergerst comments: ‘Instead of more bureaucracy and control, the government must continue to allow trust-based working time, as announced in the coalition agreement, and quickly implement the change from a daily to a weekly maximum working time. This flexibility would benefit companies and employees alike.’
This view is shared by 82 percent of all companies, which are calling for new legislation with weekly instead of daily maximum working hours. 49 percent also advocate making the legally prescribed rest period of 11 hours more flexible. Regardless of this, many companies remain critical of working time recording. Two-thirds (65 percent) say that recording working hours means losing the flexibility of trust-based working time. 55 percent complain that accurate working time recording is difficult to implement in practice, especially in knowledge work. 41 percent also report that their employees feel controlled by working time recording.
What does this mean for companies?
The figures speak for themselves: the need for legally compliant and efficient solutions is greater than ever. For companies that have not previously tracked working hours, getting started often seems complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. This is exactly where edtime comes in: a solution that can be quickly integrated, adapts to existing processes and meets both legal requirements and employee needs.
