Legal position
What applies, since when, and what it follows from. Separated into applicable law and draft legislation.
Knowledge for businesses without a legal department
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Read up on the rules for working time, breaks and leave, get a template or work something out. No sign-up, every legal statement with its section.
Understand the rules
The Working Hours Act, record-keeping duties and court rulings, explained in plain language.
- 50 articles in 6 sections
- 60 terms in the glossary
Get a template
Timesheets, leave planners, rosters and samples, with formulas, ready to use.
- 36 templates as Excel or PDF
- No email, no account
Work something out
Breaks, overtime, leave entitlement and premiums, with the working shown so you can check it.
- 14 calculators
- Calculated in your browser
Understand the rules
50 articles, sorted by section.
Every legal statement names its section. Current law and draft legislation stay apart.
Working time law
The limits from the Working Hours Act: maximum working time, breaks, rest periods, Sundays, stand-by duty.
- Break rules: what the Working Hours Act prescribes
- Rest period: the 11-hour rule and its exceptions
- Maximum working time under section 3 ArbZG
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- Sunday and public holiday work under the Working Hours Act
- Stand-by duty, on-call duty and readiness for work
- Trust-based working time: permitted, but not without records
- Overtime: what applies when people work longer
- Travel time: when it is working time and when it is paid
- Short-time work: what happens to the working time account first
Record-keeping duty
Who has to record what for how long, under the Minimum Wage Act, the Temporary Employment Act and tax law.
- The record-keeping duty under section 17 MiLoG
- Temporary agency work: it is the hirer who records working time
- Hairdressing and beauty businesses: subject to record-keeping since 2026
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Codetermination
Works council and data protection: what is subject to codetermination and where the limits of processing lie.
Practice
Everyday questions: working from home, mini-jobs, and whether a spreadsheet is still enough.
Guide
How it works in the product, step by step, per industry: practice duty, treatment cycle, on-call duty, therapy days, client time.
- Handing hours over to payroll cleanly
- How to plan practice duty in a doctors' practice
- How to plan the treatment cycle in a dental practice
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- How to plan on-call duty in a veterinary practice
- How to plan the dispensary and on-call duty in a pharmacy
- How to plan the therapy day in physiotherapy
- How to separate client time and working time in a law or tax practice
- Working hours in hospitality: what applies and what you have to record
- Working hours in hotels: planning night duty, split shifts and rest periods correctly
- Working hours in care: what applies to home care services and care homes
- Working hours in construction: what applies on site and what you have to record
- Working hours in retail: what applies to rosters, Saturdays and Sunday trading
- Maximum working time in security services: when 12 hours are allowed
- Working hours in logistics: what applies to warehouse staff and drivers
- Working hours in building cleaning: early and late shifts, travel, pay groups
- Working hours in car repair shops: what applies to technicians and trainees
- Working hours in gyms: what applies to the front desk, classes and weekends
- Working hours in call centres: what applies to shifts, screen breaks and Sundays
- Time tracking in a club: who has to record and who does not
- Working hours in temporary agency work: what agencies and hirers have to record
- Time tracking in an agency: what applies despite trust-based working hours
- Time tracking in IT companies: what applies to on-call duty and night call-outs
- Time tracking in consulting: travel time, project weeks at the client and overtime covered by salary
- Time tracking in service and maintenance: when the drive counts and what applies after an emergency call
- Time tracking in the skilled trades: which trade has to record what
Get a template
All templates with preview36 templates, sorted by purpose.
Download it, enter the names, get going. No sign-up, no newsletter.
Record working time
- A timesheet and working time record as an Excel template or a printable PDFTimesheet, hours record, working time record: the same document. Daily target, breaks and overtime calculated automatically, one table per month. As Excel for the calculation, as PDF for printing.XLSXPDF
- Working time record under section 17 MiLoGThe start, end and duration of daily working time, recorded in the form section 17 MiLoG requires: no later than seven calendar days after the work was done, kept for two years.XLSXPDF
- A timesheet for mini-jobs with earnings monitoringTwelve monthly sheets with automatic earnings calculation against the marginal earnings threshold of 603 euros and a note on how much is still available that month.XLSXPDF
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- Calculate working time with a break checkEnter the start and end, and the template deducts the required break and warns when the limits of the Working Time Act are exceeded.XLSXPDF
- Overtime account with a time off agreementOne annual sheet for target, actual, payout, time off in lieu and the running balance, plus a sample agreement on reducing the balance.XLSXPDF
- Timesheet per site, with the 7-day deadline under section 17 MiLoGOne month per person, one row per job. The Excel file adds up the hours per site, checks every day against the Working Hours Act and flags entries recorded later than seven days.XLSXPDF
- Hours per job for payroll and job costingOne row per job, with the drive from the workshop. The Excel file sums up per job, checks every day against the Working Hours Act and flags late records.XLSXPDF
- Attendance and job time kept apart, with labour units and efficiencyOne row per job with number plate and labour units. The Excel file converts units into hours, shows the efficiency per job and checks every day against the Working Hours Act.XLSXPDF
- Drive, job and emergency call per customer, with rest until the next morningOne row per drive and job, with the customer's signature. The Excel file sums up per customer and per type and flags when a night emergency call cuts the rest period.XLSXPDF
- Working time and client time in one list, with the billable shareOne row per task with client, project and billable yes or no. The Excel file sums up per client and project, shows the billable share and checks every day against the Working Hours Act.XLSXPDF
- Project, support and call-out times, with rest after a night call-outOne row per task with client, ticket and type. The Excel file sums up per client and type and flags when the rest until work starts is missing after a night call-out.XLSXPDF
- Project time and travel time kept apart, with what counts under the ArbZGEvery trip gets a type: driving, working on the way, set by the employer or free time. The Excel file only counts what is working time and checks every day against the Working Hours Act.XLSXPDF
- Times per hirer under section 17c AUeG, with the 7-day deadlineOne row per assignment with hirer, place of work and recording date. The Excel file sums up per hirer, flags late entries and checks the day across all hirers together.XLSXPDF
Plan leave and shifts
- Holiday planner 2026 as a free Excel templateAn annual overview for the whole team with German public holidays, weekends and remaining holiday calculation, ready for 2026.XLSX
- Shift roster and duty roster as a free Excel templateA duty roster with the classic A/B week pattern for rotating shifts (early, late, night), with an hours total per employee and a warning where rest periods are breached.XLSX
- Monthly duty roster with shift codesOne sheet for the whole month: enter a code per day and the hours total per person calculates itself, with the codes freely changeable.XLSXPDF
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- Holiday planner 2027 for the whole teamAn annual overview for 25 people with a holiday account per person and a sheet with the nationwide public holidays for 2027.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for kitchen and service, with split shifts and rest checksOne week per person with two parts per day. The Excel file adds up the hours and flags rest that is too short, missing breaks and days over ten hours.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for reception, night audit and housekeepingA weekly plan with night duties past midnight. The Excel file recognises the next day, adds up the hours and flags rest that is too short when switching from late to early.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for early, late and night duties in careA weekly plan with night duty and split duty. The Excel file adds up the hours and flags where the rest becomes too short when switching from late to early.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for shop floor and stockroom, with temps and SaturdayA weekly plan from goods in to closing time. The Excel file adds up the hours and flags missing breaks, rest that is too short and days over ten hours.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for site and event security, with night dutyA weekly plan for day, late, night and event duties. The Excel file calculates past midnight and flags shifts over ten hours and rest that is too short.XLSXPDF
- Shift roster for warehouse and routes, with night shiftA weekly plan for early, late and night shifts in the warehouse and for driver routes. The Excel file flags rest that is too short at a shift change and long days.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for sites with early and evening jobsTwo jobs on the same day, before offices open and in the evening. The Excel file adds both up and shows when the rest until the next morning is not enough.XLSXPDF
- Duty roster for front desk, training floor and classesA weekly plan from early opening to late closing, with weekend duties. The Excel file flags when the early duty follows too closely after the late duty.XLSXPDF
- Shift roster for service hours with early, mid and late shiftsA weekly plan for a hotline from morning to evening. The Excel file adds up the hours and flags rest that is too short when switching from late to early and missing breaks.XLSXPDF
- Volunteers, coaches and mini-jobs: assignments, allowances and the earnings limitEnter each person's role, hourly rate and hours per month. The Excel file works out the annual pay, deducts the matching allowance and flags where the minimum wage or the mini-job limit does not fit.XLSXPDF
Forms and samples
- Holiday request as a form to fill inOne sheet for the request, cover arrangements, the holiday account and the decision, with the references from the Federal Holiday Act that count in case of doubt.PDF
- Internal sick note as a formOne sheet for the internal report: period, type of report, the status of the medical assessment, cover and handover.PDF
- A sample agreement on mobile workingSix sections covering what people argue about in a dispute: place and extent, working time and availability, equipment, occupational safety, data protection and accident insurance.PDF
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- Notice on break rules under section 4 ArbZGOne sheet for the notice board: the statutory break times large and legible, plus the rules most often overlooked in daily work.PDF
- Sample works agreement on recording working timeNine clauses as a starting point for the negotiation: data recorded, purpose limitation, access, corrections, retention, permitted reporting.PDF
Introduce, onboard, bill
- Onboarding plans by industrySeven industry-specific 90-day onboarding templates: office, retail, service, kitchen, trades, care and practice, with tasks and owners that fit each industry.XLSXPDF
- Client allowance tracker as a free Excel templateHour packages per client in view: usage, roll-over and remaining balance per month, ideal for retainer models at agencies, IT service providers and law practices.XLSX
- Project time tracking with client, project and hourly rateOne entry sheet for 120 lines and a report per client that adds up hours and revenue by itself.XLSXPDF
Work something out
View all calculators14 calculators, each showing its working.
No sign-up, no storage, calculated in the browser.
Working time and breaks
- Break calculatorMandatory break and actual working time from arrival and departure, under section 4 ArbZG.
- Calculating working time, day by day and for the weekWorking time for the whole week, with the mandatory break, the weekly total and an ArbZG check.
- Maximum working time and the balancing periodThe balancing period under section 3 ArbZG, with the remaining budget per week left.
Leave and working days
- Calculating leave entitlementDays of leave for part-time work, joining or leaving during the current year, with the full calculation.
- Remaining leave and payment in lieu on departureRemaining leave on departure, with the rule for the second half of the year and the payment in lieu.
- Leave when the number of working days changesLeave when the weekly working days change, calculated per segment instead of cut across the board.
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Pay and absence
- Calculating the hourly rate from a monthly salaryThe hourly rate from a monthly salary and weekly hours, with a minimum wage check.
- How many hours a mini-job allowsThe hours limit in a mini-job at 603 euros, with a minimum wage check and a yearly view.
- Tax-free premiums for night, Sunday and public holiday workPremiums under section 3b EStG, with the separate limits for tax and social security.
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- How long pay continues in case of illnessThe end of the six weeks, the start of sick pay and the check whether a recurring illness gives rise to a fresh entitlement.
- Maternity protection: the start and end of the protection periodThe start and end of the protection period from the calculated due date, with the special cases of the MuSchG.
And how does it work in MetronHR?
22 guides in the help centre.
The articles above explain the rules. The help centre explains how it works in the product, step by step and without signing up.
All guides in the help centre- Set upCompany, employees, permissions
- Clocking inApp, browser, terminal
- Leave and planningRequests, shift plan, day plan
- Month-end closeClose and hand over
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- How do I set MetronHR up?
- How do my employees clock their working time?
- How do I set up the terminal and how is time clocked on it?
- How do I request and approve leave?
- How do I close the month?
- How do I pass the hours to the tax adviser?
- What do I need departments for?
- What does the dashboard show and how do I set it up?
- Which notifications are there and how do I configure them?
- How do I run a person's joining and leaving?
- How do I book time against projects and track the budget?
- How do I record time against clients and services?
- How do I manage the plan, licences and invoices?
- How do I create employees and maintain their file?
- What can I do in the app?
- How do I sign in and secure my access?
- How do I plan a day with activities?
- How do I create a shift roster?
- How do I configure MetronHR for my business?
- Who may see and decide what in MetronHR?
- Which reports are there and what do they show?
- How do I delete data and how long is it kept?
And who watches over it day to day?
MetronHR calculates breaks and overtime under the Working Hours Act and shows everyone their own times. Try it free for 14 days.
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