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Time Recording Required Immediately for All Employees The ECJ Has Ruled

12.06.2019

(updated on

07.04.2026

)

0

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In its new judgment on time recording, the Court of Justice of the European Union has shaken up the world of work and there is now particular discussion in Germany about the practical consequences of implementing this judgment.The judgment was prompted by an action brought by the Spanish trade union CCO against Deutsche Bank in Spain before the National Court of Spain. The background was that the employee representatives of the trade union sought to require Deutsche Bank to record in full the hours worked by its employees, which had not previously been done. Recording all working hours would ensure compliance with the prescribed working hours and correctly reflect the number of overtime hours, which would then have to be paid to the employees. The National Court referred the dispute to the Court of Justice, which agreed with the claimants. In particular, the judges in Luxembourg ruled in accordance with the EU Working Time Directive and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in case number C 55/18 that working time must be fully recorded in order to protect employees. The court reasoned that only in this way could the fundamental right of every worker to a limitation of maximum working hours and to daily and weekly rest periods be guaranteed. At the same time, the design of the system of time recording is left to the member states, which are allowed to take into account the specific features of certain sectors of activity and the characteristics of particular companies. For example, the size of a company may be decisive in the choice of time recording system.There are a number of questions regarding the practical implementation of this decision in addition to the advantages for employees in relation to the actual working time, including overtime, and complete recording of every hour worked. Some occupations are structured in such a way that it is not possible to define exact working hours. To address this problem the German Trade Union Confederation has suggested the following definition of working time. Everything I do in order to satisfy my employer’s business interests is work and must be recorded as such. This could create problems for employees in recording flexible working time, for example the concept of working from home. The German Start ups Association has warned that the flexibility demanded by employees themselves may be restricted by such requirements.It therefore remains to be seen how the implementation of this new decision of the Court of Justice will be structured in practice in German companies.

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