SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf stated that implementing digital time tracking is a necessary condition for any discussion about changing the maximum working hours from a daily to a weekly basis. Speaking to the newspaper “Stern”, he declared that while the SPD is open to flexibility in labor law, this must occur without sacrificing employee rights.
The social democrat emphasized that if a switch to a weekly maximum working hour structure is to happen, the proposal must be discussed in tandem with mandatory digital time tracking. When questioned about the possibility of having a weekly working week without digital logging, Klüssendorf stated the two issues are fundamentally linked and cannot be separated.
He recalled that the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD had laid out plans to create the option of a weekly versus a daily maximum working week. Furthermore, the parties had committed to regulating the duty of electronic time recording in a non-bureaucratic manner, including implementing transitional rules specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Klüssendorf reiterated that digital time recording is not only a commitment made within the coalition contract but is also an EU directive that must be followed. According to him, digital logging strengthens worker rights and protects employees from potential “overreaching actions” by employers, asserting that this issue finally needs to be addressed.