Digital Time Recording for Homeworking: Overview Instead of Observation
Use modern software solutions for time recording when working from home for targeted planning
Working from home: frowned upon by many, long established by some and currently demanded by all. Surveys have shown that up to 70 percent of employees in Germany will have worked from home for the first time in spring 2020 – new territory for many companies and employees. How can effective time management and targeted staff scheduling work if suddenly everyone is sitting in their own four walls instead of in an (open-plan) office? How do both HR managers and employees keep track of office days, home working times and holiday planning? And how does it all work without giving the feeling of constant control and accountability? – Web-based software solutions for digital time recording such as prime WebTime from primion, combined with transparent internal corporate communication, provide a promising answer.
Location-independent time recording when working from home with user-friendly software
For employers, workplaces operating from home mean more than just providing the technical equipment. A rethink, away from the classic time clock mentality towards a corporate culture based on trust and loyalty, is also necessary. Digital time recording creates a stable framework – for both sides. Finally, working from home must also be well organised. Intelligent and individually configurable software solutions such as prime WebTime are easy to use and ideally reflect what employers need. Homeworking days planned in advance and absences due to illness can be displayed as well as detailed working time bookings.
Digital time recording when working from home is done either via the web application or via the mobile web app. The overview table shows employers at any time which employees are in the office or working from home at which times and makes all attendances traceable in the long term. Homeworking days can be planned and approved in advance with prime WebTime. If additional days are requested, the employee receives notification that the permitted number has been exceeded, thanks to the digital time recording software. Digital time recording with prime WebTime can be optimally integrated thanks to numerous interfaces and is compatible with common wage and salary programmes such as DATEV or SAP. The HR department can evaluate the recorded data in different file formats at any time – for example, for precise hourly accounting.
Working time protection even when working from home – thanks to digital time recording
What many people do not know: Until now, there was no legal employee entitlement to homeworking – unless the employment contract or company agreements contained supplementary regulations. In Germany, the Covid Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance of the German government now obliges companies – for the time being until 31 April 2021 – to allow working from home, provided there are no compelling reasons against it. It remains to be seen what will happen after that and whether the pandemic will contribute to working from home becoming the order of the day in future.
One thing, however, still applies – also to time recording for homeworking: the German Working Hours or Working Time Protection Act (ArbZG). Employees are not allowed to exceed their working hours of eight hours a day or 48 hours a week, breaks excluded. These times and all times in excess of these must be documented. Thanks to digital time recording via prime WebTime and the complete booking of all times and absences, it is much easier for employers and employees to comply with the working time protection regulations. For example, overtime can be clearly recorded and compensated for by requested days off. Those who explain this meaning behind digital time recording to their employees automatically dispel the prejudice of performance control. In addition, recorded times and presences in the office are an important planning tool – for calculation and quotation preparation as well as for internal meetings and joint customer appointments, for example.
The new territory when working from home, including evaluable and user-friendly digital time recording, definitely works: with a corporate culture based on trust, communication at eye level and the necessary equipment and solutions for homeworking time recording that can be ideally integrated into the workflow.
