Electronic Time Recording in Germany: Who Must Comply, and From When?

“From when do I have to record electronically?” is the question German employers are asking most right now, and most answers online come from vendors who want to sell you something as fast as possible. Here is the honest version, as of 17 July 2026, based on the ministry draft bill of 18 June 2026. (We keep the legislative status current in our maintained tracker at arbeitszeiterfassungsgesetz.de.)

The short answer, by company size

Your business	Must record?	Electronically?
Up to 10 employees	Yes, already today (BAG ruling)	Under the draft, permanently optional — paper stays legal
10–49 employees	Yes, already today	Mandatory only about five years after the law takes effect
50–249 employees	Yes, already today	Mandatory only about three years after the law takes effect
250+ employees	Yes, already today	Mandatory one year after the law takes effect
Construction, commercial cleaning, security, hospitality, and all mini-jobs	Yes, since 2015, with formal requirements (§ 17 MiLoG)	Form is free, but documented within 7 days and retained 2 years

Two things here surprise most people: first, the duty to record already applies to everyone; it does not arrive with the new law. Second, the electronic form comes with long deadlines and a permanent small-business exemption.

What already applies, without any new law

Germany’s Federal Labour Court ruled in September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21, building on the ECJ’s C-55/18): employers must record the start, end, and duration of their employees’ daily working time. The form is not yet prescribed; a paper timesheet formally satisfies the duty just as an app does. The new law changes nothing about the duty itself; it only regulates form and deadlines.

What “electronic” means: less than you’d think

The draft bill demands no wall-mounted terminals and no particular software. Any electronic form counts: an app, a browser, a terminal, even a spreadsheet. What is prescribed is what gets recorded (start, end, duration), when (on the same day), and how long it is kept (two years). The employer stays responsible even when employees do the recording themselves.

Practically, the bar is low. The real question is not “which system satisfies the law?” (many do) but “which system actually gets filled in reliably, same-day, on a construction site, in a client building, on a night shift?”

Small businesses: permanently exempt from the form, not the duty

Businesses with up to ten employees (and private households) will, under the draft, never be required to use the electronic form. If someone tells an 8-person firm “fines are coming in 2027, buy now”: that is simply false. You still must record — but paper stays legal for you. The reason to go digital anyway is practical, not legal: no filling in from memory, no deciphering, no retyping into payroll, and solid evidence if a dispute ever comes.

Construction sites, cleaning crews, security firms: stricter rules already apply

If you operate in construction, commercial cleaning, the security industry, or hospitality, or employ mini-jobbers in any sector, then § 17 of the Minimum Wage Act has applied to you since 2015: start, end, and duration of daily working time, documented no later than seven days after, retained for two years. Customs (the FKS unit) audits this; violations can draw fines of up to €30,000. (Limited relief exists for salaried staff above certain stable pay thresholds.)

For exactly these sectors the debate about the new law is almost a sideshow: the documentation duty has existed for a decade; many firms just meet it with paper slips that would not survive a customs audit well.

Collective agreements can deviate

The draft includes an opening clause: collective agreements can set their own recording rules within limits. If your business is covered by one, check it before you change processes.

Frequently asked questions

Is a spreadsheet enough? Under the draft: yes, a spreadsheet counts as electronic. Honestly, though, spreadsheets break exactly where the duty gets serious: same-day recording by people standing on a site who won’t open a laptop.

Does this apply to mini-jobbers? Yes, mini-jobs are covered by the stricter § 17 MiLoG recording duty, since 2015, in every sector.

What happens if I record nothing at all? In the § 2a sectors and for mini-jobs: fine risk at customs inspections, today. Outside them, there is currently no direct fine attached to the BAG duty — but in court (overtime claims, working-time disputes) a business without records is structurally worse off. The draft introduces fines for the future.

Do owners have to clock in themselves? The duty covers employees. Managing directors and genuine senior executives are exempt under the draft.

The bottom line

Record: yes, now. Electronically: depending on size, later or never mandatory, but in practice almost always the cheaper option. If your people are spread across sites and client buildings, same-day recording is the real hurdle, not the software. BriefQR solves exactly that with a QR code you hang on the wall: scan, PIN, clocked in, hours exported to payroll. Try it free for 14 days, no credit card.

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Not legal advice, just an editorial summary based on the draft bill of 18 June 2026. Further reading: Osborne Clarke on the HR implications, IHK overview of the existing duty, German customs on MiLoG recording duties.