Is the 8-hour day an outdated obstacle? PCS time tracking ensures legal health protection and flexibility.

The debate about relaxing the maximum daily working hours is polarizing Germany. While the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and 72 percent of employees want to maintain the legally enshrined 8-hour workday as a health protection measure (DGB-Index Gute Arbeit 2025), employers are calling for more flexible weekly working hours. PCS Systemtechnik GmbH, one of the leading manufacturers of time recording systems, takes a clear position: modern working-time flexibility is not the opposite of the 8-hour workday, but can fully utilize the legal framework without violating occupational health and safety regulations. Intelligent time recording solutions based on the proven INTUS terminals form the basis for flexible working-time arrangements with a high degree of individual freedom.

The landmark ruling of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) of 13 September 2022 (case no. 1 ABR 22/21) on mandatory working-time recording has underscored the need for precise documentation, including for employment contracts with trust-based working time. PCS regards this legal requirement as an opportunity for companies to take occupational health and safety into account while still enabling flexible working-time arrangements.

"The 8-hour workday is a protective barrier for employees’ health, but flexible working-time arrangements that respect health protection benefit all parties," explains Sabine Mandl, Head of the Legal Department at PCS. “Our focus is to equip companies with the tools they need to organise work in an agile way within the applicable maximum working hours. With our systems for documenting working time, flexitime, home office and breaks are recorded so that statutory rest periods and maximum limits are observed.”

Intuitive time recording, intelligent software for fairness and legal certainty

PCS time recording systems, consisting of modern terminal hardware and powerful time and attendance or workforce management software from cooperation partners, offer far more than simply recording clock-in and clock-out times:

• Intuitive operation at the terminal: INTUS terminals are characterised by simple, self-explanatory touchscreens and various identification media (RFID, smartphone, biometrics). Employees can clock in and out, record breaks and check balances with ease.
• Automated compliance: As a rule, the time and attendance software automatically monitors compliance with the maximum weekly working hours, so that individual working days do not need to be considered in isolation (10-hour option with compensation reference period). Any violations are proactively reported to managers and employees.
• Transparent balancing models: Flexible working time accounts enable employees to build up overtime and compensate it with time off, while ensuring that the overall balance remains compliant with the law at all times.
• Health protection in focus: Managers receive data-driven insights into working patterns, allowing them to identify overload at an early stage and take preventive action in line with their duty of care.

"Together with our cooperation partners, our time recording solutions translate the complex requirements of collective agreements and working-time regulations into intuitive workforce management solutions", adds Sabine Mandl. “This enables companies to establish a working culture based on trust and flexibility while still taking employee health and occupational safety into account.”

Companies that rely on INTUS terminals for time recording benefit from legal certainty and signal to their employees that their work is valued – a decisive advantage in today’s competition for skilled workers. Further information on PCS flexible time recording solutions and INTUS terminals can be found on the PCS website www.pcs.com.