Digital time tracking replaces paper timesheets and Excel lists with a system in which employees record work start, breaks and end electronically — via terminal, tablet or smartphone. For hospitality in Germany this is doubly relevant: the industry is subject to special recording obligations anyway (Minimum Wage Act/undeclared-work rules), and the Federal Labour Court confirmed in 2022 the general duty to systematically record working time.
| Basis | What applies |
|---|---|
| Minimum Wage Act (hospitality!) | Start, end and duration of daily working time must be recorded for mini-jobbers and in the sectors of § 2a SchwarzArbG — including restaurants and accommodation — within 7 days and kept for 2 years. |
| Federal Labour Court 2022 | Employers are generally obliged to introduce a system for recording working time (derived from occupational safety law, following the ECJ "time clock" ruling of 2019). |
| Form | A statutory duty for electronic form is still in legislation — handwritten records are in many cases still permissible, but error-prone and audit-critical in practice. |
| Inspections | Customs (FKS) inspects hospitality businesses regularly and unannounced; incomplete records cost fines and credibility. |
As of mid-2026, without guarantee — not legal advice. Clarify details with your tax advisor/employment lawyer.
Three inputs — an assessment of your obligations. No substitute for advice.
Formally in many cases yes — practically risky: audits look at completeness and plausibility. Digital systems record without gaps, calculate supplements automatically and deliver the payroll export.
Cloud solutions typically cost about €2–6 per employee per month; a tablet as a clocking terminal is enough to start. The effort usually pays for itself through saved payroll preparation alone.
Yes, with consent and clean data-protection design (no permanent location tracking!). Alternatively, a neutral terminal on site remains the acceptance-friendly option.