Recording Working Time By Fingerprint: German Court Ruling

The labour court has issued a ruling that provides criteria for determining whether employers may introduce fingerprint-based systems for recording working time.

Electronic time recording is becoming increasingly important against the background of the European Court of Justice's 2019 decision requiring employers to introduce an objective, reliable and accessible system for recording the daily working time performed by each employee. Digital time recording using fingerprints is of particular interest to employers. The primary aims of a fingerprint-based system are to prevent employees from 'stamping' for colleagues and to prevent working time fraud. The Arbeitsgericht (labour court) in Berlin has recently ruled on the legality of this type of working time recording system under data protection law and provided employers with criteria to be considered in the legal assessment of such systems.