Time Tracking in the Home Office: Everything You Need to Know

1. When is it allowed to work from home?
2. Is there a legal regulation for working from home?
3. How is time tracking in the home office regulated by law?
4. Is time tracking mandatory in the home office?
5. What does the current law for time tracking look like?
6. What else do employers need to consider with the legal regulation of time recording?
7. if necessary.
8. .

Working from home is very popular among many employees. It saves the commute to work and often provides a quieter work environment away from the noise of open-plan offices. However, before working from home is possible, several things need to be clarified and considered. This article provides a comprehensive overview of how time tracking works in the home office, what legal regulations apply, which methods and tools are suitable for time tracking, and what else employers should consider.

When is it allowed to work from home?

There is no legal obligation for employers to offer their employees the option to work from home. However, there are also no professions that are excluded from working from home. Some activities, however, lend themselves better than others. Deciding to work in home office requires a mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. An additional agreement to the existing employment contract is required. In this agreement, various issues are regulated, including adherence to data protection regulations during teleworking and the question of whether working hours in the home office must be recorded.

Is there a legal regulation for working from home?

In Germany, there is no separate legal regulation for working from home. However, the following legal regulations must be observed, which also apply in the home office:

1. Occupational safety

• The Occupational Safety Act stipulates occupational safety duties that also apply in the home office.
• Occupational safety measures must be identified, a risk assessment is required.
• Employees must be informed comprehensively about necessary measures.
• The occupational medical precaution (ArbMedVV)  must be adhered to.

2. Data protection

• High demands on data security and IT infrastructure in the home office.
• Employers must take appropriate data protection precautions.
• The data protection requirements must be ensured when working in the home office.

3. Working hours

• The Working Time Act (ArbZG) also applies in the home office.
• Compliance with maximum working hours, breaks and rest periods, as well as the prohibition of work on Sundays and public holidays must continue to be observed.
• Employees must be informed about the regulations and their compliance must be ensured through regulations. Time tracking software, such as ZEP , Crewmeister or Clockodo.

When working from home, employees usually need to provide their own technical working tools and design their own workspaces. Employers are responsible for ensuring that the work tools they provide meet ergonomic standards and current technical standards.

How is time tracking in the home office regulated by law?

The legal regulations for time tracking in the home office are similar to those in the office. So, employees working from home have the same requirements regarding working hours, breaks, and resting periods as in the office. Mainly, the working time must not exceed 8 hours per day. In exceptional circumstances with a very high workload, up to 10 hours is permissible. Breaks and rest periods are determined by the duration of work. If the daily working time exceeds 6 hours, a break of at least 30 minutes is required. If the daily working time exceeds 9 hours, a break of at least 45 minutes is obligatory. There must usually be at least 11 hours between the end of work and the start of the next workday. It is important to document working time in the home office and adhere to the rules to work within legal constraints.

Is time tracking mandatory in the home office?

Again, the same legal regulations for time tracking as in the office apply. Therefore, there is basically a duty of documentation for working hours. However, there are currently some exceptions to this rule, such as for executive employees or managing directors. Especially with regard to the conflict between trust-based working hours and time trackingit is important to mention that even in the home office with trust-based working hours, there is a duty of time tracking.

What does the current law for time tracking look like?

According to the decision of the Federal Labor Court in September 2022, employers in Germany are now legally required to document their employees' working hours. This obligation results from an interpretation of the Occupational Safety Act, which corresponds to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on time recording in May 2019. In practice, this means that employers now have to introduce suitable systems to record the exact working time of their employees.

What else do employers need to consider with the legal regulation of time recording?

The European Court of Justice has indeed stipulated that working time must be recorded, but it has not regulated exactly how this should be implemented. The ECJ merely requires that the time recording system used be "objective, reliable and accessible". This means that companies have a variety of time recording solutions at their disposal that they can choose according to their specific requirements. In addition to the legal regulation of time recording, employers need to pay attention to the following points:

• Employers need to ensure that they take the necessary measures to comply with occupational health and safety regulations. This includes providing an appropriate system for recording working hours.
• It is possible to delegate responsibility for recording working hours to employees, but there should be clear guidelines or agreements in the company to ensure that the time recording system is used correctly. This can be achieved through training, for example.
• The time recording system must meet the requirements of data protection . Employers need to ensure that their employees' data is protected and used only for the purpose of time recording. Employers also need to ensure that they comply with statutory provisions on occupational health and safety and working time regulation.
• To implement the legal requirements correctly, it is important for employers to be informed about the exact legal requirements and provisions for time recording and to seek legal advice

if necessary.

1. 
   What options are there for time tracking in the office?Manual time recording:
2. Employees can manually record their working hours in a time recording system or an Excel spreadsheet by manually entering their presence times, breaks, and the end of work.Stamp systems and time clocks, such as MyTimeTracker:
3. Employees use an app to mark the beginning, breaks, and end of their working hours with digital stamps. This automated process reduces the risk of errors due to manual entries.All-in-one solutions, such as ZEP for digital time recording:

Employees can use a comprehensive solution that integrates various functions for digital time recording. These solutions not only enable the automated stamping of working hours, but they often also offer additional functions for organizing and managing working time.
If this is not enough for you, then take a look at the OMR Reviews Software Guide for Time Tracking

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