ARTICLE · 31 MAY 2023

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German Working Time Act Amendments – What You Need To Know

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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Since the much-discussed decision of the German Federal Labour Court of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), employers have been obliged to record the working hours of their staff in Germany.

GermanyEmployment and HR

Anja Lingscheid

Majaani Hachmeister

The draft bill looks to clarify the rules, but uncertainties remain.

Introduction

Since the much-discussed decision of the German Federal Labour Court of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), employers have been obliged to record the working hours of their staff in Germany. Although the Federal Labour Court decided on specific aspects, such as the extent of the working time to be recorded, detail is still lacking. A "practicable proposal" on the recording of working time, which was announced by Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to be published in the first quarter of 2023, was therefore highly anticipated.

Instead, a draft bill on the amendment of the German Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz – ArbZG) was published. The draft implements the decisions of the German Federal Labour Court and the European Court of Justice from previous years on the recording of working time and introduces regulations on the concrete design of the recording of working time.

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