Record working time without monitoring performance
The difference decides whether it is lawful. MetronHR records start, end and breaks, not call duration and wrap-up time per head.
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- Time tracking separate from the phone system statistics
- Role permissions instead of full access for everyone
- Reporting as a group, not as an individual profile
In shortCall centres have to record all working time (Federal Labour Court, order of 13 September 2022). How they do it is codetermined by the works council as soon as a system is able to monitor performance or behaviour (section 87(1) no. 6 BetrVG). Anyone who has to stay reachable during a break has no break. MetronHR records working time and breaks and checks the break rule under section 4 ArbZG.
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What has to be settled legally in a call centre
A call centre is not subject to any special recording duty. What makes it different lies elsewhere: the technology produces data on its own that is suitable for monitoring performance and conduct, and that changes the legal position.
- Co-determination
- Section 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG
- Risk assessment
- Section 5 (3) no. 6 ArbSchG
- Break from 6 hours
- 30 minutes
- Break from 9 hours
- 45 minutes
Co-determination applies as soon as a system is capable of monitoring
The works council has a right of co-determination over the introduction and use of technical devices designed to monitor the conduct or performance of employees.
Under settled case law the objective capability to monitor is enough; an intention to monitor is not required. An ACD system that logs call duration, wrap-up time and availability per seat meets that easily. The basis is section 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG.
Time tracking and performance measurement are two systems
Recording start, end and breaks is a statutory duty. Analysing call times per person is a decision that needs its own justification.
The recording duty follows from section 3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG as interpreted by the Federal Labour Court (decision of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21). The legal basis for the processing is Article 6 (1) (b) and (c) GDPR. Any performance analysis going beyond that needs its own basis, in practice a works agreement under Article 88 GDPR in conjunction with section 26 BDSG.
Psychological strain belongs in the risk assessment
The assessment of working conditions must also cover psychological strain at work. Pacing, call pressure and constant availability are exactly that.
Named explicitly in section 5 (3) no. 6 ArbSchG. Where the design of working time is itself a strain factor, it belongs in the same assessment: number 4 of the same subsection names work processes and working hours. The break arrangement is therefore not only a question of section 4 ArbZG but also one of occupational safety.
A break is a break, even with the headset on the desk
For more than six and up to nine hours, at least 30 minutes of rest break must be granted, and for more than nine hours 45 minutes. The break may be split into segments of at least 15 minutes each.
That is what section 4 ArbZG provides. A break requires that it is known in advance when it starts and ends and that no work is expected during that time. Anyone who stays at their seat and is supposed to take calls is not on a break but on standby for work.
The key duties and how they are met day to day
| Duty | Source | With paper or Excel | With MetronHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record all working time | Section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG, Federal Labour Court 1 ABR 22/21 | self-reported or the phone system's log | clock in with the app, the browser or a terminal |
| Break fixed in advance, without being reachable | Section 4 ArbZG | break at the desk with the phone on | Break check under section 4 ArbZG |
| Record time beyond 8 hours, keep for 2 years | Section 16(2) ArbZG | binders in the office | stored as long as the account exists |
Record all working time
- Source
- Section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG, Federal Labour Court 1 ABR 22/21
- With paper or Excel
- self-reported or the phone system's log
- With MetronHR
- clock in with the app, the browser or a terminal
Break fixed in advance, without being reachable
- Source
- Section 4 ArbZG
- With paper or Excel
- break at the desk with the phone on
- With MetronHR
- Break check under section 4 ArbZG
Record time beyond 8 hours, keep for 2 years
- Source
- Section 16(2) ArbZG
- With paper or Excel
- binders in the office
- With MetronHR
- stored as long as the account exists
Further reading: Section 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG · Section 3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG, section 5 (3) nos. 4 and 6 ArbSchG · Section 4 ArbZG · Federal Labour Court, decision of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21; Articles 6 and 88 GDPR, section 26 BDSG
In detail, with examples: Working hours in call centres: what applies to shifts, screen breaks and Sundays
As at: November 2026. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
The system knows more than it is allowed to
In hardly any other industry does so much analysable data sit so close together. That is precisely why time tracking here has to be kept deliberately narrow.
- Problem
Time data and performance data in the same report
Putting attendance and call statistics side by side builds a performance profile, even unintentionally.
- Problem
Every manager sees everything
Without role permissions the team leader has access to other teams' data. That is neither necessary nor lawful.
- Problem
Breaks happen at the desk
Anyone still reachable during the break is not on a break within the meaning of section 4 ArbZG but at work.
Record what the duty requires, and no more
Start, end and break per person, reporting as a group figure, access by role and team. Whatever the phone system collects stays outside.
Separation as the defaultThe system produces no performance profile, because it does not contain the data needed for one.
Features for call centres
Built for shift operation, a high share of part-time staff and strict separation of access.
- Employee protection
Break check under section 4 ArbZG
The required break no longer goes missing
From six hours 30 minutes, from nine hours 45 minutes, in segments of at least 15 minutes. If it is missing, the system speaks up, not the inspectorate.
- Security
Access by role and team
Every manager sees their team, not everyone
Permissions depend on the role, not on trust. That satisfies the principle of data minimisation in Article 5 (1) (c) GDPR.
- Overview
Reporting as a group
Plan capacity without individual profiles
Staffing, attendance and absence rates per team and time window, without breaking the figures down to individuals.
- Planning
Shift planning for service hours
Staffing aligned to availability
Store service hours and minimum staffing per time window, and the plan shows under- and overstaffing before it is published.
- Time
Logged corrections
Later entries are traceable, not invisible
Anyone changing an entry leaves a trail with a timestamp and a reason. That protects both sides, in a dispute and in an inspection.
For team leaders and agents
Two roles with very different permissions.
- Team lead
Plan staffing without a performance profile
- Capacity planning needs attendance, not call duration per head.
- Staffing and absences per time window for your own team, without access to other teams' data.
- Agent
View your own times and have them corrected
- The break was forgotten, and now the system holds a wrong day.
- Your own entries are visible, a correction request goes through approval and stays logged.
Frequently asked questions from call centres
What call centres ask about co-determination, data protection and breaks.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Send us a messageDoes introducing time tracking need the works council's consent?
Not the whether, because the recording duty exists by law (Federal Labour Court, decision of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21). The how very much so: the design is subject to section 87 (1) no. 6 BetrVG as soon as the system is capable of monitoring performance or conduct.
Is the objective capability to monitor enough, or is an intention required?
The capability is enough. Under settled case law what matters is not whether the employer wants to monitor, but whether the device is objectively capable of it. An ACD system with call statistics per seat is.
May we analyse call duration and wrap-up time per person?
Only with a separate legal basis and as a rule only on the basis of a works agreement under Article 88 GDPR in conjunction with section 26 BDSG. The duty to record working time does not carry such an analysis.
Is a break at the workstation with continued availability a break?
No. A rest break under section 4 ArbZG requires that it is known in advance when it starts and ends and that no work is expected during that time. Anyone still expected to take calls is on standby for work, and that is working time.
Does psychological strain really have to go into the risk assessment?
Yes, section 5 (3) no. 6 ArbSchG names psychological strain at work explicitly. Number 4 of the same subsection names work processes and working hours. Pacing and break arrangements therefore belong in the same assessment.
Other industries
Clubs and associations
In a club, volunteers, instructors and employees work side by side. The Working Time Act applies only to the last group, and the line between them determines contributions and charitable status.
ViewHospitality
Hospitality is named in section 2a SchwarzArbG. The seven-day deadline of section 17 MiLoG therefore applies to all employees, not just to mini-jobbers.
ViewCare
Care facilities are the only industry with two special routes on rest periods, and since the ECJ ruling standby duty counts in full as working time.
View
Meet the duty without crossing the line
Time tracking separate from the phone system statistics, access by role, reporting as a group. Try it free for 14 days.
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