Keeping Track of Working Hours for Remote Work

Why Keeping Working Time Records Is a Legal Obligation, Not a Choice

Many employers still think that keeping working time records is more of an administrative matter or that for home office, it is enough to check work results. This is a flawed approach. Section 96 of the Czech Labour Code explicitly states that the employer is obliged to keep records of working time for each employee separately, regardless of where they work.

The ultimate responsibility for keeping proper records lies with the employer. An employee can assist the employer (for example, by recording their arrivals and departures), but the legal obligation to keep the records remains with the employer.

Labour inspectors are aware of this, and inspections focusing on working time records are among the most common. Deficiencies or discrepancies between records and reality are one of the main reasons for fines. For breaching the obligation to keep working time records, an employer faces a fine of up to CZK 2,000,000. If you are setting up internal rules for recording working time and control mechanisms, a legal assessment within the scope of labour law can be helpful.

The Difference Between Working Time Records and Attendance Records – Don't Confuse Them

In practice, we still encounter companies confusing two concepts: working time records and attendance records. This is not just a terminological nuance – the difference has legal consequences.

What Are Working Time Records

Working time records are a log of the time actually worked – meaning the start and end of the work shift, overtime, night work, and on-call time. These are the legally required data.

For home office, this means: recording when the employee actually started and finished working, whether they schedule their working hours themselves or the employer determines them.

What Are Attendance Records

Attendance records are a log of presence at the workplace – i.e., when the employee arrived at the office, when they left, what breaks they took, etc. From a legal standpoint, this is not mandatory, although it is commonly kept.

For home office, attendance records may also include information about related activities (presence on online channels, system logins, email responses), if the employee is instructed to do so.

Here's the problem: attendance records are not working time records. If a company only keeps attendance records (e.g., when an employee logs into an online channel) but does not record the actual hours worked, it is breaking the law. The Labour Inspectorate will classify this as insufficient recording of working time. The practical impacts of inspections and typical mistakes in setting up remote work arrangements are also summarized in the article External Contractors vs. Employees: How to Correctly Set Up Contractual Relationships and Eliminate Tax Risks of Hidden Employment.

A Practical Example

An employee working from home logs into the company chat at 9:00 AM. At 10:30 AM, she logs off for a personal matter to pick up her child from kindergarten. She returns at 12:30 PM. She logs off again for lunch from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM. Then she continues working and logs off at 5:00 PM.

If the company only records logins and logouts from the chat, it will record work from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, which is 8 hours. But she actually worked only: (10:30–9:00) + (12:30–10:30) + (17:00–13:30) = 1.5 h + 2 h + 3.5 h = 7 hours.

The difference is not trivial – it can affect the calculation of sick pay, holiday entitlement, or overtime. When a dispute over employee claims (e.g., overtime or reimbursements) arises due to working time records, it is appropriate to address the procedure and evidence strategy within the framework of commercial and litigation disputes.

Legislative Framework: Sections 317 and 96 of the Labour Code

Since 2023, remote work has been governed by specific rules in Section 317 of the Labour Code. An important part of this concerns how working time is organised and recorded.

Mandatory Written Agreement

First, let's return to a fundamental legal fact: home office can only be arranged based on a written agreement between the employer and the employee. An oral agreement is not sufficient. For risks associated with terminating employment (including situations where the actual performance of remote work is disputed), see also How to Terminate Employment During the Probationary Period Without Risk of a Lawsuit. The agreement must contain at least:

• the place (or places) of work performance,

• the method of communication between the employee and the employer,

• the scope of work performed remotely,

• the conditions for scheduling working time,

• the method of cost reimbursement,

• the period for which the agreement is concluded.

It is surprising how many companies still operate with agreed-upon but unwritten home office arrangements. The Labour Inspectorate will always point this out.

Two Regimes for Scheduling Working Time

The law distinguishes between two scenarios:

First: the employer schedules the working time (e.g., the employee must be available from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, works from home, but their working hours are fixed). In such a case, standard rules apply – overtime is paid, obstacles to work under various codes are compensated, etc.

Recording working time in this regime is simple: record the start and end of the working day according to the schedule and record any deviations (overtime, obstacles to work).

Second regime: the employee schedules their own working time (Section 317(4) of the Labour Code). This is often arranged for mothers on maternity leave or persons caring for a dependent. In this regime, the employee decides when to work their selected hours during the week or month, as long as they meet the agreed weekly or monthly scope.

This is where it gets complicated: in this regime, overtime is not paid, there is no entitlement to compensation for certain obstacles to work, and many standard allowances do not apply. But recording working time is still mandatory.

In Practice: What This Means for Record-Keeping

If you work with employees in the first regime (fixed hours), standard records are sufficient: login in the morning, logout in the evening, and recording obstacles to work (sick leave, holiday, training).

If you work with employees in the second regime (self-scheduling), you must keep a more detailed record: each working day, the employee records the specific hours they worked, to make it clear that they have indeed worked their "flex time" and have not arbitrarily shortened it. Without such a record, you have no proof that the person has fulfilled their obligation to work the specified number of hours per week.

The lawyers at ARROWS law firm encounter these pitfalls during inspections or disputes – and companies often realise their records are inconclusive only when it's too late.

Technical Aspects of Record-Keeping: What Works and What Doesn't

Today, there are many solutions available – from manual tables and Excel to sophisticated attendance systems. Which solutions are legally sound?

Manual Records and Excel

Manual entries in a notebook or Excel spreadsheets technically meet the legal requirement ("recording"), but they are not legally secure for several reasons:

• It is impossible to prove when the record was made. An employee can "add" shifts retroactively.

• In a conflict (e.g., an employee claims they worked overtime and wants to be paid for it), you will not hold up in court or with an inspector. A manual entry is considered less credible evidence.

• If checked by an inspector or a court expert, the data will be easily challenged.

If you do use Excel, both parties – the employer and the employee – should at least sign a monthly summary to confirm its accuracy.

Online Attendance Systems

Modern attendance systems (like GIRITON, SYSDO, iTA, etc.) are legally much safer. They offer:

• Automatic backups and logs – it is not possible to retroactively alter records without a trace.

• Mobile clock-in and clock-out – the employee records their times directly from their mobile, which increases credibility.

• GPS location – can be part of the record (if agreed in the home office agreement and it is proportionate).

• Analytics and reports – they make it clear to the employer and the inspector how many hours the employee has worked.

Labour inspectorates accept such systems – their outputs are considered credible evidence.

GPS and Biometric Elements

Many companies think that GPS tracking or facial scanning is a natural part of record-keeping. It is not. GPS location can be agreed upon in the home office agreement, but only if it is purposeful and not overly invasive. For example: for an employee who delivers small packages to customers, GPS tracking is justified. For an employee who programs from their home office, it is unnecessary and disproportionate.

When using GPS, be careful about GDPR – you must have a legal basis for processing location data (i.e., it must be in the agreement and must be proportional), and the employee must be informed that they are being tracked.

Monitoring Employees on Home Office: The Legal Boundaries

This is a chapter that contains a huge number of legal pitfalls. Many employers think that if an employee works from home, they can subject them to any kind of monitoring – and that is a mistake that can cost millions of crowns in fines.

What You Can Do Without Problems

Checking work results is a fundamental right of the employer. You can request reports, statuses, and the results of completed tasks. This is not monitoring the person; it is checking the performance of work.

Verifying that the employee is working during the agreed hours – you can simply check (e.g., through a manager) whether the employee is available at the agreed time.

Monitoring system logins is possible if the employee needs to be logged into the company chat or email during agreed hours. But only logins/logouts, not individual activities.

What Constitutes a Violation of the Law

Hidden cameras in a home office – regardless of the reason. The home is protected by the right to the inviolability of the home under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. If you want to verify OHS (occupational health and safety), you can arrange for regular reports from the employee or a photograph of the workplace, but entering the apartment or installing hidden cameras is a serious violation of rights.

Constant screen capturing, mouse tracking, and keylogging constitute invasive monitoring that violates the right to privacy. Without a serious reason and without consent, this is unlawful. It carries the risk of high fines from the Office for Personal Data Protection (ÚOOÚ) (up to 4% of global turnover) and the Labour Inspectorate (up to CZK 1,000,000).

Continuous audio or video recording – without the consent of all persons involved, this is a violation of the Personal Data Protection Act and can be a criminal offence.

Inspectors are not allowed to check the content of emails and private messages without a serious reason, although they can monitor the frequency of received and sent emails.

GDPR and the Labour Code: A Double Risk

Here is a serious catch: a violation of the law during monitoring can cost you fines from two authorities at once:

•  The Office for Personal Data Protection (ÚOOÚ) for violating GDPR and the data minimisation principle – a fine of up to EUR 20,000,000 or 4% of turnover.

•  The Labour Inspectorate for violating the right to privacy under Section 316 of the Labour Code – a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000.

An example is a case where an employer uses a program like Time Doctor, which captures the screen every few seconds and monitors how much time an employee spends on social media. Without the employee's explicit consent and without a serious reason, this is very risky. If discovered, a series of problems will follow.

The lawyers at ARROWS law firm find that companies later realise the gravity of their approach to monitoring – and by then, it's too late.

Overtime and Obstacles to Work in a Home Office: Where Rights Get Lost

This is one of the biggest pitfalls. The legal regime for overtime and obstacles to work differs depending on how the home office is arranged.

If the Employee Schedules Their Own Working Time

With self-scheduling (the regime under Section 317(4)), the employee is not entitled to overtime pay or time off in lieu for overtime. The reason is clear: they have a high degree of flexibility, so if they need to extend their work, they can adjust their schedule themselves.

The same applies to breaks for meals and rest – in this regime, the employee is responsible for taking breaks when they need them. The employer is not obliged to provide them at a specific time.

Obstacles to work (sick leave, holiday, training) are handled according to an agreed "fictitious schedule." This is an indicative schedule that the employer creates for the purpose of calculating compensation. If an employee falls ill, they receive wage compensation not under all circumstances, but only based on this fictitious schedule.

If the Employer Schedules the Working Time

If, on the other hand, the employer determines the working hours (e.g., the employee works from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from home), then standard rules apply. Overtime must be paid, obstacles to work are compensated according to the law, etc.

Practical Warnings

This is where a huge potential for disputes arises. Many employers agree on "self-scheduling" and then pressure employees to work at certain hours, or tell them that overtime is not paid, even though they are effectively dictating their hours. This is a distortion of the system, and inspectors see right through it.

In the opposite situation: an employee remembers that they were supposed to be self-scheduling, but then secretly recalls that they actually had fixed hours, and demands back pay for overtime (up to 3 years back). Without a clear, written agreement and detailed records, it will end up in court.

The lawyers at ARROWS law firm see these disputes regularly – and they stress that a clear agreement and detailed records of working time completely resolve these situations.

Mandatory Cost Reimbursement: What You Cannot Afford to Overlook

Since 2023, a specific obligation applies to home office: the employer must provide the employee with reimbursement for costs incurred while working remotely – unless something else is agreed in writing.

Lump-Sum Reimbursement

As of 1 January 2026, the lump-sum cost reimbursement is CZK 4.70 for each hour of remote work commenced (according to Decree of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs No. 572/2025 Coll.).

This means: if you have an employee working 20 hours a week from home, they will receive monthly: 20 hours × 4 weeks × CZK 4.70 = CZK 376. Not much? No. But it is the legal minimum unless otherwise agreed.

Proven Costs

If a lump sum is not agreed with the employer, the employee has the right to reimbursement of proven costs.

• Electricity, heating, water – i.e., household operating costs attributable to work.

• Internet – if it is necessary for work.

• Wear and tear of own equipment – for example, a laptop or phone, if the employee uses it for work.

Key detail: It must be explicitly agreed that no reimbursement is provided

One problematic scenario: the employer and employee agree that the employee "will not seek reimbursement" for home office costs. This is permissible, but it must be explicitly documented in a written agreement signed by both parties.

Practical Warning

Many employers think that an agreement "with no right to reimbursement" is a standard part of the contractual relationship. But inspectors see this situation differently. If the employee later claims they knew nothing about the agreement, or that they signed under pressure, they risk being owed back reimbursements – for up to 3 years.

The lawyers at ARROWS are concerned with whether such an agreement is formulated clearly enough and whether the employee has always clearly consented to it.

Management and Archiving of Working Time Records

Beware of another aspect: working time records must be archived and kept for a minimum of 30 years. This is a long time and creates a data-related obligation.

Also, note: working time records are personal data under GDPR. This means you must protect them, control access, and employees must have the right to view them.

An employee has the right to request a copy of their working time records, and your system must allow this – without undue delay and without additional fees.

Final Summary

Recording working time for home office is not an unnecessary administrative burden – it is a legal obligation that protects both parties, and its violation can cost millions of crowns in fines, disputes, and delays.

The most common mistakes we observe:

• Confusing concepts – a company thinks that by keeping attendance records (logging into chat), it is also keeping working time records. They are not the same.

• Missing agreement – an employer arranges home office orally and then fails to notice that it does not legally exist.

• Excessive monitoring – the attempt to control employees leads to a violation of GDPR and the right to privacy.

• Unclear overtime and obstacles – when it is not clear whether the employee schedules their own time, disputes arise.

• Failure to reimburse costs – the employer forgets about the lump-sum or proven costs.

• Loss of evidence – manually kept records are lost or challenged.

The lawyers at ARROWS law firm will help you set up a legally secure system – from creating the correct home office agreement and choosing suitable recording software, to defending you in the event of an inspection or a dispute with an employee. If you want to be sure you are on the right side of the law and do not want to risk making mistakes, contact us.

Contact ARROWS law firm at consultation@arws.cz and have your working time records professionally set up.