Record-keeping obligations – Who is affected?

The Proof of Employment Act (NachwG) also specifies which contract conditions of an employment relationship must be recorded.

Working time records: Affected sectors

Record-keeping under AEntG:

• Chimney sweeps
• Main and secondary construction trades
• Care sector (special regulations)
• Stonemasonry and stone sculpting trades
• Building cleaning
• Education and training services under SGB II and III
• Temporary employment/worker leasing
• Meat industry
• Scaffolders’ trade
• Painting and varnishing trades
• Security personnel at airports
• Roofers’ trade
• Electrical trades

Record-keeping under MiLoG:

• Building cleaning
• Construction industry
• Catering and accommodation industry
• Companies involved in the set-up and dismantling of trade fairs and exhibitions
• Passenger transport industry
• Freight forwarding, transport, and logistics industry
• Meat industry not meeting the requirements of § 2 (2) GSA Meat
• Fairground/showmen industry
• Hairdressing and cosmetics trades (new 2026)
• Prostitution industry
• Guarding and security industry
• Platform-based delivery services (new 2026)

The lists above are not exhaustive. Additional record-keeping obligations may exist under collective agreements or regulations and must be checked on a case-by-case basis. If the Temporary Employment Act applies, additional record-keeping obligations may also arise.

In addition, MiLoG record-keeping applies to all mini-job employees (except in private households) and short-term employees, regardless of the sector in which they work.

The employer must record the start, end, and duration of the employee’s daily working hours.
These records must be available to the employer no later than the seventh calendar day after the day on which the work was performed. Records must be kept for at least two years, but it is recommended to retain them for four years.

Example:
An employee in the construction industry works from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 October 2024, with a lunch break from 12:15 to 13:15.
The employer must complete the working time records by Wednesday, 11 October 2024.
The record should look as follows:

Exceptions:

Only employees performing exclusively mobile work or employees with a fixed regular monthly salary above EUR 4,461 (2025) or EUR 2,974 (2025), if this threshold has been exceeded in the last twelve months and will continue to be exceeded in the future (only for MiLoG records), are exempt.

Family members of the employer are also exempt (under MiLoG and AEntG). Family members include spouses, registered partners, children, and parents of the employer.

Employers are required to record any working time exceeding eight hours per day.

Following the Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022, there is an obligation to record working hours for all employees in all sectors.

The Federal Ministry of Labour has announced plans to amend the Working Hours Act to update the record-keeping obligations.

Violations of the record-keeping obligations constitute an administrative offense, with fines of up to EUR 30,000.

Fines exceeding EUR 2,500 may also result in exclusion from public procurement.

The Proof of Employment Act (NachwG) requires every employer to record the essential terms of an employment contract, have the document signed by both parties, and provide a copy to the employee.

Alternatively, a written employment contract may include the required terms. The document or contract must be signed personally by the employer.nThis must be done before or at the start of the employment relationship. For interns, the agreement must already exist and be signed before the start of work.

Failure to comply may be interpreted against the employer, especially in disputes regarding contract terms, and fines may apply.

Many sectors have record-keeping obligations for employees’ working hours.

In addition, records are required for mini-job employees and short-term employees, affecting all employers.

Besides recording working hours, the employer must also document the contractual conditions of employees.

We are happy to advise on all issues related to the Minimum Wage Act, working time records, and contract documentation, in cooperation with our legal counsel.