Time Recording & Staff Planning 2026: Legal Developments, New Laws, and the Future of Workforce Management
The world of work in Germany is undergoing radical change. Triggered by rulings from the European Court of Justice (EuGH) and the Federal Labor Court (BAG), the issue of working time recording is taking on a central role in labor law. Politicians are working on a reform of the Working Hours Act (ArbZG), which is intended to make electronic working time recording mandatory from 2026. This will increase the requirements for companies in terms of compliance, documentation, and digital processes.
Content:
↓ Definition: Work Time Recording
↓ What Legal Changes Are on the Horizon for 2026?
↓ Why Is Manual Time Recording an Existential Risk Today?
↓ What Legal Consequences Do Companies and Their Responsible Parties Face?
↓ How Does Modern Workforce Management (WFM) Support Compliance?
Definition: Work Time Recording
Work time recording refers to the systematic recording of working hours and breaks in order to make times measurable, billable, and legally classifiable. It acts as a compass for the working day: it precisely shows the start of work, breaks, overtime, and free time – so that time is not lost, but rather creates transparency, fairness, and predictability. It combines individual performance, organizational processes, legal requirements, and economic reality into a reliable record that builds trust and protects health. At its best, it avoids micromanagement and bureaucracy, instead providing clear guidance that increases efficiency, reduces costs, and leaves room for real productivity. In short, fluid hours become traceable results.
What Legal Changes Are on the Horizon for 2026?
Employers are already required to systematically record working hours. This was confirmed by the European Court of Justice in May 2019 (Case C-55/18): EU member states must require employers to set up an objective, reliable, and accessible system for measuring daily working hours.
The Federal Labor Court (BAG) confirmed this obligation for Germany in September 2022: Employers must introduce a system that records the start, end, and duration of working time, including overtime, regardless of whether a works council exists.
The German legislature is responding to this as part of the reform of the Working Hours Act, which is to come into force in 2026: According to this, electronic working time recording is to become the norm, supplemented by transition periods and possible collective bargaining exceptions. A final legal version is still pending, but the direction is clear: digital, reliable, and traceable.
Why Is Manual Time Recording an Existential Risk Today?
In many companies, the “reality of paperwork” still prevails. However, Excel lists, handwritten additions, or magnetic boards for staff planning are not only inefficient but also a direct gateway to legal sanctions.
The dangers of manual processes at a glance:
- Prone to errors & manipulation: Manual lists can easily be “adjusted” retroactively. Without a digital audit trail (change history), there is a lack of traceability, which is immediately viewed negatively during audits.
- Overtime flying blind: Without digital approval processes, overtime hours accumulate unnoticed. This not only increases labor costs, but often exceeds the legal limits.
- Lack of transparency: When staff planning is done on paper, there is no reliable history. Responsibilities remain unclear, and corrections are often made too late or not at all.
Studies have long shown that digital HR and time management systems lead to significant gains in efficiency and quality. For example, research on digital HR transformation indicates that organization-wide digital processes—including time and performance data—strategically strengthen human resource management.
What Legal Consequences Do Companies and Their Responsible Parties Face?
Systematic violations of documentation or occupational safety obligations can result in fines. Administrative offenses under working time law can be severe, even if they are not usually prosecuted under criminal law.
Important points:
- Companies can be held liable as legal entities.
- Management and executives are responsible for compliance with labor and occupational safety obligations—in cases of negligence, there is a personal liability risk.
- In addition, according to Section 29a of the German Administrative Offenses Act (OWiG), the economic advantage gained through violations can be confiscated if, for example, working time regulations were deliberately circumvented.
What Do Supervisory Authorities Check During Inspections?
Labor inspectors and occupational safety authorities focus on key compliance aspects during inspections:
- Maximum working hours and their monitoring:
Are legal daily and weekly limits being observed? - Breaks and rest periods:
Are breaks systematically documented and not circumvented? - Documentation and traceability:
Are there complete records that can be exported if necessary? - Organization and roles:
Are there clear responsibilities for time management and working time regulations?
Important: There is currently no legal requirement that mandates a specific technical solution (e.g., specific software)—the only decisive factor is that the recording is objective, reliable, and accessible.
How Does Modern Workforce Management (WFM) Support Compliance?
Today, a modern workforce management system is much more than a digital time clock—it is an integrated compliance and control tool.
Automated, tamper-proof recording
Digital systems log working hours, including breaks, with time stamps and an audit-proof history. This significantly minimizes legal risks.
Real-time alerts and logs
Configurable alarms automatically notify you of impending violations of daily working hours or rest periods.
Intelligent staff planning (PEP)
Modern WFM software checks duty rosters against legal and collective agreement requirements during the planning process. Violations are automatically flagged before they occur.
Audit-proof reports
At the touch of a button, complete time sheets, break reports, shift overviews, and risk analyses can be exported for internal or external audits.
Process and workflow management
Responsibilities are transparently documented via digital approval and authorization steps. This not only helps with compliance, but also in day-to-day business.
Overview of the Advantages of Digital Time and Workforce Management Systems
Digital time and workforce management systems make working hours visible, traceable, and easy to manage. Instead of paperwork and estimates, automatic time recording ensures that start and end times, breaks, and overtime are reliably recorded. This reduces input errors and discussions – time becomes measurable and evidence is available from a single source.
Digital processes save a lot of time in human resources. Vacation requests, sick notes, and time off in lieu are handled online, approvals are granted more quickly, and evaluations can be generated at the touch of a button. This reduces administrative work, frees up time for strategic tasks, and shortens response times to change requests.
Resource planning becomes significantly smarter: shift schedules can be created dynamically based on availability, qualifications, absences, and demand. This leads to better utilization, less idle time, and fewer unnecessary overtime hours. At the same time, rules and fairness mechanisms ensure that workloads are distributed fairly.
Legal requirements and compliance are automatically taken into account. Working time laws, rest periods, and maximum working hours can be mapped in the system, and audit trails provide complete evidence for audits and billing. Data protection aspects such as role-based access or data minimization can be implemented technically, reducing legal risks.
Such systems quickly generate financial savings: Less manual effort means lower administrative costs, more accurate billing of overtime and allowances prevents additional claims, and better planning helps avoid miscasting. This improves the return on investment and makes personnel decisions more economical.
Employees also benefit: self-service portals enable vacation requests, shift changes, and access to their own schedules – creating transparency and trust. Clear rules on working hours and faster processing of requests increase satisfaction and contribute to employee retention.
The collected data provides a valuable basis for decision-making. Key figures on core working hours, absences, or overtime rates provide reliable insights; trend analyses and forecasts support personnel planning and simplify strategic decisions.
Data protection, change management, and integration are important factors to consider during implementation. Data protection must comply with legal requirements, training and clear communication promote acceptance among employees, and clean master data and open interfaces to payroll, HR systems, or ERP ensure the quality and sustainability of the project. Security aspects such as role-based access, logging, encryption, and regular backups are also part of this.
In practice, many digitization projects have a significant impact: lower error rates, less administrative effort, and higher data quality compared to manual processes. In short, digital time and workforce management systems create transparency, save time and costs, increase legal certainty, and deliver reliable data – provided that data protection, change management, and technical integration are considered from the outset.
Conclusion
The legal requirements for working time recording and staff planning will continue to increase in the coming years. There is already an obligation to systematically record working hours. From 2026, this obligation is expected to be enshrined in law in the ArbZG (Working Hours Act), with clear requirements for objectivity, reliability, and accessibility.
Digital workforce management software not only facilitates legally compliant implementation but also increases efficiency and transparency within the company. It supports HR managers, executives, and senior management in not only complying with legal requirements, but also in realizing operational advantages.
It is worth rethinking your approach in the short term: digital time recording is not only becoming a regulatory necessity, but also a strategic competitive advantage.
You can find another blog on the topic of “mobile time recording” here: https://plano-wfm.com/en/mobile-time-recording-workforce-management/
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