Austria: Keeping working time records correctly

26 Aug 2025    4 minute read
Working Time Records Rest Periods Employer Obligations

In brief

Employers are obliged to keep proper records of working hours. This ensures that maximum working hours and minimum rest periods are observed. Violations can lead to additional claims by employees (including suspension of expiry periods), but also to administrative penalties. The violation of record-keeping obligations can be expensive, as violations are punished with regard to each individual employee. To minimize such risks, companies should review their usual practice of recording working hours. A uniform company-wide system does not necessarily apply here, as it depends on the design of the individual employment relationships.

Contents

In depth

Basics

As a general rule, employers must keep records of the hours worked by all employees. The beginning and end of each working day as well as the location of the breaks must be recorded. In addition, the recordings must be accessible at any time in the company premises.

If the obligation to record working hours is transferred to the employees, they must be instructed accordingly to keep the records correctly. Regular inspections must nevertheless be carried out, as the responsibility remains with the employer.

The working hours are also subject to a posting obligation so that employees are informed accordingly about the beginning and end of normal working hours. However, the information can also be posted electronically (e.g., via Intranet). Employees can also request the transmission of their working time records once a month.

Exceptions

For employees who are largely able to determine the location of their working hours and the place of work themselves (e.g., field service, teleworking), or who carry out most of their work in their home, only records of the sum of their daily working hours must be kept (so-called "balance records"). Due to the difficulties for the employer to control and intervene, the exact location of the working hours does not necessarily have to be registered in these cases.

In addition, the obligation to keep records of rest breaks does not apply if the break times have been fixed by a shop agreement with the works council, if any, or if it is left to the employees to take rest breaks as they wish within a specified period; this applies as long as this agreement is not deviated from. If there is no works council, such an arrangement can also be made by means of individual agreements.

In the case of employees with a fixed written working time schedule (e.g., duty rosters), only deviations must be recorded, if any. In addition, compliance with the agreement must be confirmed on a regular basis.

For certain groups of employees, there is also a complete exemption from the obligation to keep records of working hours. This applies for example to family members and executives, who have been given decisive independent decision-making authority and who have a certain activity-related time autonomy. Whether employees can be qualified as executives within the meaning of the working time laws must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Special cases of flexitime and all-in?

Working time records must also be kept in the case of flextime and all-in salaries, which is often overlooked.

In the case of flextime, even additional information must be provided. Here, as with other average calculation models, the start and duration of the calculation period must also be recorded. In addition, if flextime is agreed, the employer must check the records at the end of each flextime period at the latest. The internal information must also contain the flextime frame, carry-over options to the following year and the duration and location of the weekly rest period.

Lump-sum salary agreements are effective and permissible as long as they do not put employees in a worse position than under the minimum statutory or collective bargaining agreement requirements. This requires regular coverage accounting, which can only be carried out properly if continuous working time records are available.

Even if employees are completely exempt from the working time laws (e.g., executives), regular recording and monitoring can still be useful in order to be able to comply with the obligation to properly compensate for overtime – according to any applicable collective agreements. In addition, special laws applicable in individual cases may also contain record-keeping obligations.

Conclusion

Companies should be aware of their obligations related to working time records and adjust them if necessary. In the case of contract amendments and adjustments, it must also be checked in each case whether the recording system currently used is still suitable and sufficient for the respective employees. If a company wants to use only one uniform system, it must comply with the strictest rules in force in the company.

Even if employees are exempt from working time laws, or if there are exceptions to the standard records, regular recording of working hours that goes beyond the legal obligation may still be recommended.

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Contact Information
Mag. Simone Liebmann-Slatin M.Sc.
Senior Counsel
Vienna
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simone.liebmann-slatin@bakermckenzie.com
Dr. Philipp Maier, LL.M. (UCL)
Partner
Vienna
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philipp.maier@bakermckenzie.com

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