What is the issue in Germany?
Under the German Working Time Act, employees must generally not work more than eight hours per working day. This can be extended to up to ten hours, provided the average does not exceed eight hours per working day within the statutory reference period.
Historically, the express statutory recording obligation was much narrower. In simplified terms, employers were required to record working time exceeding the regular daily limit and keep those records for two years. There was no detailed statutory framework for recording all working time across the workforce.
That changed following two major court decisions. In 2019, the European Court of Justice held that Member States must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system to measure daily working time. This was followed by a ruling of the German Federal Labour Court in 2022, which held that German employers are already obliged under existing occupational health and safety law to record the start and end of daily working time.
The obligation to record working time therefore exists, but the practical framework remains unclear. What exactly must be recorded? Must the system be electronic? How does this fit with trust-based working time? Are there exceptions for senior or highly autonomous employees? And what level of employer control is expected?
Many companies have been waiting for the German legislator to provide clear rules, while also having to consider whether labour authorities could take the view that current arrangements are not fully compliant. This is particularly challenging for employers whose employees have traditionally worked with a high degree of autonomy and trust — for example in parts of the financial sector, consulting, technology, senior management functions or international project teams.
What is happening now?
The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has recently announced that a draft bill on working time reform is finally expected in June 2026. The main focus for employers will be working time recording. They will be looking for clarity on the form and scope of the recording obligation, including whether electronic systems will become the statutory default and what exceptions may apply.
At the same time, the draft bill is expected to address working time flexibility. In broad terms, the reform may explore a shift from the current focus on a daily maximum working time towards a weekly limit, within the boundaries of EU working time law. This would not necessarily mean that employees can work more overall. The key point would be greater flexibility in how working time is distributed across the week.
That could be particularly relevant for international businesses. German working time rules can feel rigid when applied to cross-border teams, late calls with other time zones, transaction work, project peaks, client deadlines or global management structures. A weekly approach could create useful flexibility, but it will almost certainly come with safeguards — and it will need to sit alongside the new recording framework.
What is the timeline?
The draft bill is expected in June 2026. In German legislative terms, this would be an important first step. Once published, the draft will go through the ordinary legislative process, during which it may be amended, refined or narrowed before adoption.
That said, the announcement is a meaningful development. After several years of waiting, the publication of a draft bill would be the first concrete legislative step towards a clearer statutory framework. Depending on the political process and the content of the draft, it remains possible that changes could enter into force as early as later on this year.
What does this mean for employers?
Any statutory clarity on working time recording after years of uncertainty would be welcome. But clarity is likely to come with concrete obligations. Employers may need to review or introduce time recording systems, update policies, train managers, adjust HR processes and reassess how trust-based working time can operate in practice.
For organisations that have not yet approached working time compliance in a structured way, this may become a significant implementation project. Existing systems will need to be tested against the new requirements. Employers will also need to understand whether the draft creates meaningful exemptions, for example for particular employee groups or working models.
The flexibility element should, in principle, be positive. A move towards a weekly rather than daily maximum could allow working time to be structured in a way that better reflects business needs, employee preferences and the realities of international work. The key question will be how the legislator balances that flexibility with employee protection, rest periods and health and safety requirements.
The works council angle should not be underestimated. Where a German works council exists, changes to working time arrangements and the introduction or use of technical systems capable of monitoring employees will often trigger co-determination rights under the German Works Constitution Act. This can materially affect timing, negotiation strategy and implementation.
This is therefore unlikely to be a purely technical HR systems project. It may become a broader exercise involving HR, Legal, IT, Compliance, management and employee representatives.
What should employers do now?
Employers do not need to redesign their working time systems overnight. However, once the draft bill is published, they should assess how far their current arrangements already meet the proposed requirements, where changes may be needed and whether the reform creates opportunities to make working time models more flexible.
That review should include employee populations working under trust-based, highly flexible or largely unrecorded arrangements, existing works council agreements, current time recording tools and areas where the daily working time limit currently creates practical challenges.
Once the draft legislation is available, employers will need to assess what it means for working time compliance in Germany — and whether it creates new flexibility, new obligations, or both. We will continue to monitor developments and provide a further update once the draft bill has been published.
