Recording obligation in Austria: What employers really need to document

What is the recording obligation under the Working Time Act?

The Austrian Working Time Act (AZG) § 26 requires every employer to document the working hours of their employees completely and transparently. This regulation applies without exception – regardless of company size, industry or place of work.

The recording obligation is not a formality but a central element of employee protection. It serves to prevent overwork, safeguard rest periods and ensure correct payroll processing. At the same time, it enables the authorities to monitor compliance with statutory working time provisions.

AZG § 26 Para. 1: The employer must keep records of the working hours performed for each employee. These must contain the beginning and end of the daily working time as well as the duration of the working time.

Violations of the recording obligation are strictly penalised by the authorities – with administrative fines of up to €2,180 per affected employee. In the case of repeated or serious violations, the penalty can be doubled.

What must be recorded according to the Working Time Act?

The law stipulates that the following data must be documented for each employee:

Mandatory information under AZG § 26

• � Start of daily working time (exact time)
• � End of daily working time (exact time)
• � Duration of working time (in hours and minutes)
• � Breaks (at least 30 minutes for working times of 6 hours or more)
• � Rest periods between working days (at least 11 hours)
• � Overtime and its remuneration or time off in lieu
• � Weekly working time (to monitor the maximum working time)

Additional documentation obligations

Extended recording obligations apply in certain industries or for certain working time models:

• For shift work: shift times and shift schedules
• For flexitime: core hours, flexitime framework and time credits/time debits
• For all-in contracts: separate documentation of overtime actually worked
• For Sunday work: justification and compensatory rest day

Who is subject to the recording obligation?

The recording obligation applies in principle to all employers in Austria – regardless of how many employees are employed. Even sole traders (EPU) with just a single employee must document working hours.

Which employees are covered by the obligation?

The documentation obligation covers:

• � Full-time employees
• � Part-time employees
• � Marginally employed workers
• � Apprentices
• � Interns and holiday placement students
• � Employees working from home or in mobile working arrangements
• � Seasonal workers and temporary staff

Are there any exceptions?

Only very few groups of persons are exempt from the recording obligation:

• Senior executives with extensive decision-making authority and above-average remuneration
• Managing directors who are simultaneously shareholders (from 25% shareholding)
• Self-employed persons without employee status

Important: Simply being designated as a "senior executive" is not sufficient. An actual, comprehensive management function must exist.

What penalties are imposed for violations?

The authorities monitor compliance with the recording obligation in the course of company inspections. Violations are penalised as administrative offences.

Important: Penalties are imposed per affected employee. With 10 employees without correct time tracking, penalties of up to €21,800 can therefore be incurred.

Practical tip: During company inspections by the authorities, working time records must be available for immediate presentation. Long search times or retrospective compilation are already considered a violation of the accessibility obligation.

How must working hours be recorded?

The Working Time Act does not prescribe a specific form of recording. However, the ECJ ruling on working time recording has defined three central requirements that also apply in Austria:

The three core principles of legally compliant time tracking

1. Objective: Recording must be based on actual measured values, not on retrospective estimates or recollections.
2. Reliable: The data must be correct, complete and traceable. Manipulation must be ruled out or at least documented.
3. Accessible: Records must be available for inspection by the authorities, works council and employees at all times.

Permitted recording methods

In principle, various methods are permitted:

• 📱 Digital time tracking systems (app, software, terminal)
• 🕐 Time clocks (analogue or digital)
• 📝 Handwritten timesheets (with immediate recording)
• 💻 Excel spreadsheets (if maintained daily and stored in an audit-proof manner)

However, not all methods meet the requirements for objectivity and reliability equally well.

Paper vs. Excel vs. digital time tracking – a compliance comparison

Checklist: How to meet the recording obligation in a legally compliant manner

Use this checklist to review your current time tracking:

� Completeness of data

• ☐ The start and end of every work shift are recorded
• ☐ Breaks for working times of 6 hours or more are documented
• ☐ Overtime is shown separately
• ☐ Weekly working time is visible
• ☐ Rest periods between working days are traceable

� Timeliness and objectivity

• ☐ Times are recorded promptly (not retrospectively at the end of the month)
• ☐ Recording is based on actual times, not estimates
• ☐ System prevents retrospective manipulation (or logs changes)

� Accessibility

• ☐ Records can be presented immediately during inspections
• ☐ Employees can view their own times
• ☐ Works council has access to relevant data (if applicable)

� Archiving

• ☐ Records are retained for at least 7 years
• ☐ A backup system is in place (for digital recording)
• ☐ Data is protected against loss (fire, water damage, data loss)

� Data protection

• ☐ Access is regulated on a role-based basis (not everyone can see everything)
• ☐ Data storage is GDPR-compliant
• ☐ Employees have been informed about data processing

What happens during an inspection by the authorities?

The authorities carry out both announced and unannounced company inspections. The main aspects checked are:

1. Existence of records: Are working hours being documented at all?
2. Completeness: Are all mandatory details included?
3. Timeliness: Are times recorded promptly or retrospectively "tidied up"?
4. Plausibility: Do the documented times match the actual work processes?
5. Compliance with maximum working time: Are the statutory limits being observed?
6. Break rules: Are the prescribed breaks actually being granted?

In the event of ambiguities or irregularities, the authorities may:

• Interview employees
• Seize documents
• Set deadlines for remediation
• Impose immediate penalties

Important: Even in the case of announced inspections, you must not retrospectively "clean up" records. The authorities almost always recognise retrospectively created documents immediately – and treat this as an attempt to conceal, which leads to significantly higher penalties.

Digital time tracking: the safest path to compliance

Modern digital time tracking systems are specifically designed to automatically meet statutory requirements. The key advantages:

Automatic compliance assurance

• � Real-time recording: Times are objectively stamped at the actual moment
• � Automatic break rules: The system reminds users of mandatory breaks and books them correctly
• � Overtime warning: A notification is issued when the maximum working time is at risk of being exceeded
• � Audit-proof storage: All changes are logged; nothing can be manipulated without detection
• � Automatic backup: Data is secure and will not be lost

Particularly important for mobile teams

When employees work on construction sites, at client premises or from home, mobile time tracking via app is especially practical. Good solutions offer:

• 📱 Time tracking via smartphone (iOS and Android)
• 🌐 Offline functionality (times are synchronised later)
• 🗣️ Multilingual support for international teams (e.g. German, English, Serbian, Albanian, Hungarian, Turkish, Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, Croatian)
• 📍 Optional GPS tracking (GDPR-compliant, only during working hours)
• 🏷️ NFC check-in (for work locations without smartphone use)

The advantage: employees can clock in directly on site, the office has an immediate overview and, during inspections, all data can be presented at the touch of a button.

Common mistakes in working time recording

The following mistakes most frequently lead to objections from the authorities:

❌ Mistake 1: Retrospective completion

Many companies collect timesheets at the end of the month and have employees enter the times retrospectively. This is not legally compliant, as objectivity is lacking.

❌ Mistake 2: Rounding and estimates

"I always work from 8 to 5" – such blanket statements do not satisfy the recording obligation. The actual times must be documented.

❌ Mistake 3: Missing break documentation

Breaks must be explicitly shown. Stating "7.5 hours net" is not sufficient – the start and end of the break must be identifiable.

❌ Mistake 4: No retention

The 7-year retention obligation is often disregarded. During inspections, older records must also be available for presentation.

❌ Mistake 5: Trust-based working without monitoring

"Our employees work on a trust basis" – this does not exempt employers from the recording obligation. Documentation is required even for flexible working time models.

❌ Mistake 6: Excel without change protection

Excel spreadsheets that can be overwritten at any time are not considered reliable. At a minimum, a change history must be in place.

Conclusion: Compliance is not a matter of chance

The recording obligation under Austrian working time law is not a bureaucratic nuisance but an important instrument of employee protection – and at the same time your protection as an employer in the event of legal disputes.

The good news: with a well-designed system, meeting the statutory requirements is no longer a major burden. Modern digital time tracking solutions handle most compliance tasks for you and simultaneously reduce the administrative workload considerably.

Three key takeaways:

1. The obligation applies to everyone: Whether you have 1 or 100 employees – working hours must be documented.
2. Violations are costly: Penalties of up to €2,180 per employee, up to €4,360 for repeat offences.
3. Digital is safer: Modern systems automatically meet the requirements for objectivity, reliability and accessibility.

Review your current time tracking using the checklist in this article – and close compliance gaps before the authorities find them.