What is a timesheet?
Timesheet sounds like a term from another era: is it really a piece of paper on which an employee notes when he or she started and finished work? In the broadest sense, yes. However, this form is increasingly being filled out on a computer, as digitalization has of course long since conquered the area of working time recording.
However, the importance of a timesheet has not changed: It is used to record all hours worked so that correct accounting can be carried out at the end. But who is obliged to keep a timesheet? Is documentation mandatory for all employees? And what exactly must be on the timesheet for it to be legally valid? These and many other topics are the focus of today’s article.
Definition: Timesheet as a form of working time recording
What is a timesheet? Simply explained: a document on which employees record their daily working hours. This includes the start and end of work and break times. There is usually a separate timesheet for each month. The completed document is given to the HR department, which can then use the timesheet to check whether all the planned hours have been worked, the break times have been observed and overtime has been worked. It takes a minimum of time to complete, but the benefits are all the greater: companies can use the time sheet to prove that they comply with the Working Hours Act and pay the minimum wage per hour worked. The documentation requirement also has advantages for employees: they have a precise list of their daily working hours in their hands and can present this to payroll accounting in the event of any ambiguities during further processing.
Who has to keep a timesheet?
Not all companies or employees have to provide a daily time sheet. For some industries, however, the timesheet is mandatory. This is referred to as an obligation to document working hours. Whether this is done digitally or by hand is irrelevant, but we will come to the options for recording hours later. As a rule, employees fill out the timesheet themselves. The employer provides them with a corresponding document or tool.
Timesheet for overtime
The Working Hours Act states that companies must record their employees’ overtime. This includes all “working hours in excess of the working day”.
Timesheet for marginal employment
All marginally employed persons, with the exception of mini-jobbers in private households, are required to document their hours worked and overtime in writing. This is to ensure that the remuneration per hour worked is paid in accordance with the Minimum Wage Act.
Timesheets in industries at risk of undeclared work
The risk of undeclared work is higher in some sectors than in others. To combat this, there is an obligation to provide written proof of hours worked in the economic sectors listed in the Act to Combat Undeclared Work. These include the following sectors, among others: Construction, restaurants and hostels, freight forwarding, transport and logistics, forestry companies, building cleaning, trade fair construction and the meat industry, employees in parcel services and newspaper delivery.
Timesheets for collective agreements under the Posted Workers Act
The obligation to document working hours applies to economic sectors in which a collective agreement is generally binding in accordance with the Posted Workers Act.
What information must be on the time sheet?
Filling out a timesheet is easy. In addition to the name, place and date, the start and end of work must be noted. This is used to calculate the duration of the daily working time.
Break times
As breaks are not part of working time according to the Working Hours Act, they are not included in the total working hours. Furthermore, employees do not have to note on their timesheet where they spent their break and how long it lasted.
Optional information
Additional information is mainly helpful in large companies so that the timesheet can be assigned correctly straight away. This includes, for example, the date of birth or personnel number, the exact position and project name as well as the address of the employer or place of work. The timesheet can, but does not have to, be signed by both parties when it is handed over.
What are the advantages of a timesheet?
An obligation for some, a voluntary matter for others – the advantages of uniform working time recording are the same in both cases. On the one hand, it provides a reliable basis for preparing payroll accounting. A timesheet is clearly laid out and reveals overtime, absences and sick days at a glance. This also helps when drawing up the duty roster or distributing shifts. Depending on the way in which working hours are recorded, employees can also do this from their home office or on the road, as well as within the framework of flexible working time models. Furthermore, companies and businesses can easily prove that they are complying with the Working Hours Act by recording working hours properly.
What are the disadvantages of a timesheet?
Like everything that needs to be noted and tracked, filling out a timesheet also takes a little extra time. But let’s be honest: entering the start and end of work and then calculating the total duration takes less than five minutes. Creating a timesheet template – whether using a word processing program, spreadsheet or software – also only needs to be done once. The time required is therefore minimal. Data protection, on the other hand, requires a little more attention. This is because time recording is also subject to legal regulations.
From handwritten to digital timesheets
Changes due to technical developments and achievements are taking place in all areas of work and life, and they are not stopping at the timesheet. It is therefore not surprising that only very few people still write down their working hours with a pen on a piece of paper. However, the option still exists, because it doesn’t matter whether the timesheet is handwritten or typed.
Handwritten time sheet
As the name suggests, in this variant, the start and end of working hours are entered by hand in a list. In the past, it was common practice to record working times on a piece of paper in this way. However, this method is not completely tamper-proof, as the data can easily be changed later and therefore falsified. In addition, errors creep in more quickly on a paper timesheet because the total duration has to be added up. It is therefore hardly surprising that more secure and practical time recording systems have now become established.
With spreadsheets for time recording
Excel is the best-known spreadsheet program. It offers good options for recording working hours and overtime. The Excel-based timesheet can be customized and is simply filled out on the computer in the morning and evening by the supervisor or the employees themselves. Practical: If you enter the appropriate formulas, you don’t have to do a lot of math, but automatically receive the total working hours after entering the data.
Digital time recording systems
In the current digital age, most companies and businesses rely on software and therefore on electronic time recording. This has many advantages: The digital timesheet can be filled out both in the office on the computer or on the go via smartphone. In addition, this approach complies with the objectivity required by the European Court of Justice when recording the daily target hours of individual employees. Furthermore, digital time recording systems are less prone to errors than manual timesheets or a spreadsheet program, as they work very precisely and calculate the actual working hours automatically. In addition, overtime, sick days and other absences can be documented almost automatically and taken into account in payroll accounting.
Submission and obligation to retain the timesheet
Once a month has passed and the timesheet has been completed in full, it is handed over to the relevant department. Good to know: The working hours must be documented by the end of the seventh calendar day following the day on which the work was performed, i.e. one week later. After further processing and payroll accounting, the employer keeps the time sheet in the personnel file or saves it as a digital document in the employee database in the employee’s personal profile. In the event of an inspection by customs, it must be possible to present the timesheet upon request. Current timesheets should therefore always be to hand.
If the company is obliged to record working time, the time sheet must be kept for at least two years. And do employees have access to it? According to the Works Constitution Act, employees can view their personnel file. If the timesheet is kept there, there is theoretically a right to view it. However, there is still no generally applicable official regulation on this matter.
Conclusion: digital timesheets instead of paperwork!
Timesheets sound a bit old-school and like a time clock, but the relevance of time recording is more important than ever. After all, everyone wants to be paid fairly for the time they actually work, including overtime. The Minimum Wage Act is also intended to ensure this. But the days of handing out paper slips at the beginning of the month that end up piling up on the HR department’s desk are as good as numbered. Digital time recording systems have made way for this.
With time recording software or a tool, recording working hours is more efficient, less prone to errors, more tamper-proof and clearer. High-quality programs – such as the Teamhero personnel planning software – also offer additional functions, such as real-time tracking or to-the-minute billing. These features are particularly interesting for companies where project-related work plays a role. At the end of the month, however, nobody has to do without a piece of paper in their hands, as the evaluation of the time recording can be printed out and handed over to the employees if required.
