Requests for retroactive changes of work times

Recording work times reliably and to the day is not only sensible, but also obligatory. The new request function for later changes of work times forms an additional safeguard for existing time tracking data and ensures regular and accurate time recording.

The most important facts at a glance

• Your employees can continue to edit their time entries retroactively. If the editing causes a change in work time, this change is optionally requested via the new function for work time changes and confirmed (or rejected) by managers or supervisors. Only then does the change in work time take effect.
• This solution ensures the daily accurate time tracking of your employees and protects work times in the past from editing and deletion.

We are going ahead

What had been announced in 2019 by the decision at the European level became ready to be implemented in Germany in 2022 at the latest with the BAG ruling: the mandatory recording of work times for all companies. While the authorities are still tinkering with the final law, we are actively reacting with a new concept for daily registration and a new protective shield for documented work times. With the new application function for work time changes, we are also fulfilling a frequently expressed customer wish.

Our solution

With the prospect of the introduction of mandatory time tracking, we set out almost a year ago to find a new solution to protect documented work time without adding complexity for users. As employers, companies in Europe need to make mandatory, daily time tracking as easy as possible for workers and enforce it as actively as necessary.

This is how it was so far

Previously, project time and working time were recorded simultaneously. Your employees created time entries, which at the same time documented the associated work time. So far, so comfortable. The edit lock prevented subsequent editing of project times and the associated work times.

The previous implementation, as numerous customers reported back to us, contained a contradiction: The time limit for work times should be as short as possible in order to promote timely recording. Project times, on the other hand, should remain processable for longer. The previous edit lock, which applied equally to both, could not fulfil both requirements at the same time. Most clients chose a relatively long deadline in order to obtain the necessary project adjustments. However, this left an effective control mechanism for the ongoing recording of working hours by the wayside.

Without a tight edit lock, the motivation of the employees to document their working time as prescribed to the day was purely their own responsibility. Many clients wanted a differentiated treatment of work times and project times in order to be flexible on the one hand and to counteract free subsequent entry and editing of work times on the other.

That stays the same

Simultaneous recording of project and work time

At first glance, nothing changes for your employees. When creating time entries, you continue to record project and work time at the same time. The work times continue to be collected and evaluated in the work time account and in the time journal. So everything remains the same in day-to-day operations.

That's new

Applications for retroactive work time adjustments

What is new is that supervisors and managers can define a period of time after which changes to work times are only possible by request (in short: request period). An employee can still edit his time entries during this period. In order for the changes to be transferred to the work time account, he must submit a request to the team leader or his manager. Until the approval, the previous work times are valid in the work time account. This new function (more or less gently) increases the incentive for employees to comply with their time tracking obligation on a daily basis.

Good to know:

• For all existing customers, the request period is deactivated by default. You decide yourself if and when you activate the new function.

• As employees can continue to adjust time entries with immediate effect, all project evaluations are up-to-date at all times. Evaluations of project budgets and settlements with clients are not influenced or held up by open requests for change of working time.

The edit lock becomes a full lock

After a certain time, neither the change of work times (with or without request) nor the adjustment of project information makes sense any more. This is what our edit lock has prevented up to now. For the sake of clarity, we now call it "full lock". It protects against further editing of time entries and work times that lie before the cut-off date.

Protection for documented work time

Correcting and adding to current time entries and associated work times is part of everyday work. The situation is different when editing and deleting time entries that lie further in the past. Until now, there was a danger of unintentionally deleting the work time associated with the time entries. With the new amendments, we are putting a new, effective stop to this.

New API endpoint for working hours

For the work times, there is now a new endpoint in the Clockodo programming interface for the approved status of the work times. If you want to query the approved work times and have previously queried the time entries for this, it may be necessary to adapt your connections. You can find more on this in the API documentation.

Thank you for your trust.

We really racked our brains for the new, (almost) invisible protective shield for time entries and thus also work times in Clockodo. We are convinced that the new solution combines comfort and security. Thank you for entrusting us with your time. At Clockodo, we handle your most valuable asset as carefully and responsibly as we possibly can.

Do you have any questions about the changeover or the new functions? Contact our customer service. We are ready and happy to help you.