Remote Work Time Tracking – Possibilities and Regulations

At the same time, this new reality of the working world also poses a number of challenges - such as the question of how to track working hours when working from home and how to handle this correctly. In this article, we explain what needs to be considered and what options are available for implementation.

Facts about Working from Home – Status Quo

Surveys by the German Federal Statistical Office show that a large proportion of employees still regularly work from home even after coronavirus. In 2023, almost a quarter of all employees were still working from home regularly, at just under 24% - before coronavirus, this figure was just under 13%.

Statista also shows that remote work models are still popular on a global level. There has been an increase since 2015. The technology sector has had the largest share of work from home employees compared to other sectors.

Differences by Company Size and Age

Employees in larger companies were more likely to work from home than employees in comparable companies of a smaller size. From a company size of at least 250 employees, the home office share in 2023 was just under 34 percent. 

People aged 25-34 were among the most likely to work from home (26.4%), just ahead of employees aged 35-44 (26.2%). As the concept of teleworking continues to enjoy great popularity, it is all the more important to ensure that working conditions are legally compliant. 

Good Reasons for Remote Work

The unbroken popularity of the home office model is very easy to explain when you consider the numerous advantages of working from home:

• More flexibility in planning working hours and the ability to maintain a good work-life balance in everyday life
• Lower costs for employees and employers by eliminating travel costs, food expenses, office space and other operating costs
• Greater productivity thanks to fewer distractions when working from home, which makes it easier to work without interruption
• Less fluctuation due to generally higher employee satisfaction, which in turn saves companies the cost of hiring new staff
• More skilled workers can be recruited for the company with the help of a home office model, which expands the company's own talent pool

This is just a small selection of the benefits that working from home can offer companies and employees. At the same time, these examples show why it is sensible and important to define the conditions for working from home, including time recording, correctly and clearly from the outset.

Is Time Tracking Mandatory when Working from Home?

Yes, since the ECJ ruling on working time tracking, EU member states must create a legal framework that obliges employers to record their employees' working time “objectively, reliably and accessibly”. This ruling was further specified in 2022 by the German Federal Labor Court (BAG) to the effect that this obligation to fully record working time in accordance with Section 3 (2) No. 1 ArbSchG already applies and must be applied (judgment V. 13.09.2022, Ref. 1 ABR 22/21). 

The location from which the work is carried out makes no difference in terms of time recording: If companies or their employees are obliged to document working hours, this obligation to record working hours applies in the home office as well as in the office.

Comparing Home Office Regulations: Germany and Switzerland

As of the time of writing (August 2024), there is no specific law on working from home in Germany. There is also no legal basis that obliges employers to offer their employees the option of remote work. During the coronavirus pandemic, home office was briefly mandatory - but this has since been lifted.

According to the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, there is currently no legal regulation on this. Instead, workl frome home regulations on working hours fall under various existing laws that can be applied to working conditions. These include

• Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG): This law regulates the maximum working hours, rest breaks and rest periods that also apply in the home office. Employers must ensure that these regulations are also observed there. These regulations serve to protect the health of employees and ensure a clear distinction between work and leisure time.
• Occupational Health and Safety Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG): It obliges employers to ensure the health and safety of employees. This also includes working from home, although implementation is more difficult in practice.
• Company agreements and collective agreements: Many companies regulate the conditions for working from home in internal company agreements or collective agreements.

In Switzerland, too, there is no specific law that comprehensively regulates working from home. There were brief mandatory home office phases during the coronavirus pandemic. Similar to Germany, various existing laws now apply::

• Labor Act (Arbeitsgesetz, ArG): The Labor Act regulates maximum working hours, rest periods and breaks, which also apply to home office. Employers are responsible for ensuring that these regulations are complied with.
• Code of Obligations (OR): The Code of Obligations regulates the contractual conditions between employers and employees, including the possibility of making home office agreements. There is therefore no right to work from home in Switzerland either. 

Which Aspects of Working Time Should be Recorded?

The following aspects must be recorded for each individual employee

• Start of working time
• End of working time
• Total duration of working time (per day)
• Rest periods

Working hours that exceed the regular time must also be documented as overtime. This overtime is also permitted when working from home. However, the employer must ensure that such overtime is compensated within a maximum period of six months.

Why is Time Tracking Important when Working Remotely?

Apart from purely legal requirements, the conscientious recording of one's own working hours in the home office fulfills a number of other important functions - for both employees and employers. 

Everyday Healthy Working Life

The more consistently employees and employers advocate the complete and prompt remote work time tracking, the more likely it is that employees will be able to focus on their work and use their breaks for better time to relax. This can prevent employees from exploiting themselves and therefore be an effective way of preventing burnout. This makes WFH (work from home) time tracking an important pillar of health protection. 

New Working Time Models

Modern ways of recording working hours help employees to adapt to new, more flexible working models. This makes it easier for them to get used to new systems over time, to get rid of old habits and to go along with real change processes in everyday working life. Employers who are planning to implement innovative new models also benefit from this new mindset among employees. Smart time recording solutions can lay the foundation for this development. 

Remote Work Time Tracking: Various Options

It is important that companies provide their employees with the right tools to document their working hours as intuitively and easily as possible. However, a “classic” time clock is obviously not an option when working from home or on the move. That's why there are a number of solutions for recording working hours that have become increasingly important in recent years. 

Manual Time Tracking

In many companies, especially in small businesses, the recording of working hours using timesheets is still widespread. Although this method requires no more than pen and paper, it is highly susceptible to errors. Digital documentation of the recorded times also requires time-consuming manual transfer of all information. 

Recording Hours via Excel

A digital variation of the timesheet is recording working hours using Excel. Here, information on working hours and more can be easily entered into (clearly laid out) tables. This method is very intuitive to implement, but unfortunately also highly susceptible to incorrect entries.

Using a Tracking App

The use of dedicated software for time recording in the home office can help to track work performance quickly and conveniently. A web-based browser interface makes it easy to assign the time spent to individual tasks. For even more flexibility in recording - both at home and on the move - software solutions with an app are suitable.

WFH Time Tracking – Benefits of a Successful Implementation

The challenges of working from home can be quite complex, especially when it comes to time management. Many small tasks can lead to employees losing track of the hours they have worked in a short space of time. However, systematic and WFH time tracking allows both employees and employers to stay on top of things - we have listed the most important benefits here.

Transparent processes

Conscientious documentation of working hours creates transparency and clarity. Employees and employers alike can see which projects employees have worked on and to what extent. In this way, there are no sudden surprises or discrepancies. 

More efficient project planning

The more precisely working hours are recorded, even when during remote work situations, the more accurately companies can track which workloads are actually incurred for which projects. Conscientious project time recording makes future project planning and calculations easier. 

Straighforward payroll processes

Thanks to accurate (remote work) time tracking, employees' working hours can be listed and billed precisely. This is not only beneficial for payroll accounting, but also provides a good overview of any overtime and more. This gives managers the opportunity to order a reduction in overtime at an early stage. 

Legal security

By encouraging their employees to use a solution for remote work time tracking, businesses ensure that all legal requirements for logging working hours are met. In case of doubt, they can provide all evidence and avoid potential legal conflicts with (costly) fines. 

Enhanced structure & responsibilities

Clear regulations on time tracking while working from home help employees to optimize their own time management and to maintain clear boundaries between working time and free time. This can help to increase employee motivation and productivity as well as promote a healthy work-life balance.