A disagreement is emerging between the German government and labor unions regarding the planned legislation for working hours recording. The coalition government is seeking to create exceptions to the mandatory documentation requirement for “trust-based working time” arrangements, while the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) is advocating for a comprehensive and complete recording regulation.
According to Anja Piel, a DGB board member, quoted in “Welt am Sonntag” there is “no need whatsoever” for exemptions concerning trust-based working time and that such exemptions “contradict EU law” in their view.
While acknowledging that trust-based working time is typically agreed upon with employees earning higher salaries, Andrea Kocsis, deputy chair of Verdi, stated that the model “must not persist” if it is utilized to circumvent the protective rights of the Working Time Act and employer recording obligations.
Employers, however, contest this perspective. Rainer Dulger, president of the employers’ association, told “Welt am Sonntag” that many businesses already record working hours for the majority of their employees, while in other areas, with valid reasons, this is not required. He emphasized that trust-based working time serves to accommodate employee preferences and enables a responsible level of flexibility. Dulger added that recording trust-based working time with a time clock is inherently contradictory and that doing so would eliminate a key personnel policy instrument for working time flexibility, something he believes is incompatible with modern work practices.
The German government is obligated to revise legislation concerning working hours recording following rulings by the highest courts. The draft law prepared by the preceding government has been deemed “obsolete” by the Federal Ministry of Labor. Consequently, the government has invited both labor unions and employers to a dialogue concerning the new regulations, scheduled to commence after the summer recess. The timeline for presenting a draft law remains unclear.
