Working time tracking in Austria: compliant with the Working Time Act (AZG)
§ 26 of the Austrian Working Time Act requires records of start, end and breaks for every employee. time cockpit records them completely, detects violations automatically and delivers the timesheet the labour inspectorate may ask for.
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Developed and supported in Leonding, Austria. Support in German and English, directly from the product team.
What the Working Time Act requires from you (§ 26 AZG)
The recording obligation applies to every employer in Austria, regardless of size and industry. These are the rules in short.
What to record
Start, end and breaks of the daily working time, for every employee. A roster is not enough, the actual hours count. For home office, the daily total is sufficient (§ 26 para. 3 AZG).
Who is affected
All employers and all employees, including part-time and marginal employment. Only a few groups such as executives are exempt. Employees may record their own times, the employer remains responsible for checking (§ 26 para. 2 AZG).
Keep for 1 year
At least one year, 24 months for drivers. The labour inspectorate may request access at any time, employees may ask for a monthly copy of their records.
Up to EUR 1,815 per employee
Fines under § 28 AZG: EUR 20 to 436 for incomplete and EUR 72 to 1,815 for missing records, per employee. Without records, limitation periods for overtime claims are suspended (§ 26 para. 9 AZG).
A detailed article on the legal background is available in German: Arbeitszeiterfassungspflicht in Österreich.
Not legal advice. As of September 2026.
Austrian companies meet the recording obligation with time cockpit
Three customers from Austria explain in interviews how they combine working time, project time and labour law.
Labour law has to be followed precisely: the daily maximum working time, break rules, weekly hours. Everything we used to do in Excel now runs professionally in time cockpit. That gives me a lot of freedom as an entrepreneur, it simply works.
IMC, IT service provider from Linz
Flexible working hours with flexitime accounts, maximum working time and breaks in line with the Working Time Act.
Solvion, IT service provider
Working time and project time in one system, connected to Microsoft Business Central instead of manual double entry.
LeaseMyBike, company bike platform
Four companies in one holding: working and project time recorded, month-end billing in a few clicks.
How time cockpit covers the recording obligation
Every requirement of the Working Time Act has a matching feature in time cockpit. No add-on modules, no Excel.
Record start, end and breaks without gaps
time cockpit supports the common Austrian working time models, including a history of changes. Target hours can be configured per day and employee. The digital timesheet shows start, end, breaks, vacations, public holidays, time credits and home office days in one place.
The Austrian working time limits are preconfigured. time cockpit detects exceeded maximum hours or missing rest periods automatically and reports them before they become a problem. Details in the documentation on working time regulations.
Austrian specifics: home office allowance, public holidays, compensatory time
Home office days are recorded, evaluated and shown on the timesheet, the basis for the Austrian home office allowance. The Austrian public holiday calendars are built in and can be adapted per federal state and industry.
Compensatory time, flexitime accounts and special leave such as moving house or a wedding are configured so they do not reduce the vacation balance.
More than compliance: project time and billing from the same data
If you have to record working time anyway, put it to use. time cockpit assigns every hour to a customer, project and activity down to the minute. Automatic time tracking with sidekick records what happens on the computer and saves the retyping.
The result: invoices according to Austrian requirements, service reports for customers, and analyses of project cost and utilisation.
Retention and access: audit-proof in the EU cloud
All records stay available well beyond the legal one-year retention period. Timesheets can be exported and printed at any time, for example for the labour inspectorate, and employees always see their own times.
time cockpit is hosted in Microsoft Azure data centers in Europe. A GDPR data processing agreement is available.
Time tracking software from Austria: developed in Leonding, hosted in the EU
time cockpit is developed by software architects gmbh in Leonding near Linz and hosted in Microsoft Azure data centers in Europe. A GDPR data processing agreement is part of the package.
Austrian rules are standard, not customization: public holidays per federal state, the home office allowance, compensatory time, flexitime accounts and the working time limits of the AZG are preconfigured.
Support comes directly from the product team, in German and English. If you have a question about the setup, you write to the developers, not a call center.
Meet the recording obligation before the labour inspectorate asks
Start, end and breaks recorded, violations detected automatically, timesheets exportable at any time.
Try time cockpit free for 30 days. Setup takes an afternoon, and the consultation is available in German and English.
For teams of up to 10 users EUR 29.90 in the first year, then EUR 10.85 per user and month. Cancel anytime. All prices
FAQ: working time tracking and the recording obligation in Austria
Is time tracking mandatory in Austria?
Yes. § 26 of the Working Time Act obliges every employer in Austria to record the working hours of all employees. This applies to all company sizes and industries. Only a few groups, such as executives, are exempt.
What has to be recorded?
Start and end of the daily working time and the breaks of every employee. For self-determined working time and location, such as home office, recording the daily total is sufficient.
How long must working time records be kept?
At least one year, 24 months for drivers. time cockpit keeps the records indefinitely, so they remain available and exportable later on.
What fines apply for missing time records?
Under § 28 AZG, EUR 20 to 436 for incomplete and EUR 72 to 1,815 for missing records, per employee. In addition, limitation periods for overtime claims are suspended as long as no records exist.
Is Excel or a roster enough?
A roster is not enough because it shows planned rather than actual hours. Excel is legally possible, but checking, the monthly copy for employees and retention become manual work. See how employee time tracking in time cockpit handles this.
May employees record their own times?
Yes. The employer may delegate recording to employees but has to instruct and check them regularly. In time cockpit, employees record their own times and supervisors review the timesheet.
Does time cockpit detect violations of the Working Time Act automatically?
Yes. The Austrian working time limits are preconfigured. Exceeded maximum hours and missing rest periods are flagged and reported automatically.
What does compliant time tracking cost for small teams?
The Starter package costs EUR 29.90 in the first year for teams of up to 10 users, then EUR 10.85 per user and month. You can try time cockpit free for 30 days, no credit card required.
Does time cockpit fit your process, from time tracking to invoicing?
In 30 minutes you will know whether time cockpit covers your project hours, project controlling and invoicing.
- What we cover
- You tell us how you track and bill time today. We show you live how that works in time cockpit and what switching involves.
- Who you talk to
- Someone from the team that builds time cockpit and rolls it out for customers, for example Alexander or Michael.
- How
- 30 minutes online via Microsoft Teams, free and without obligation.
You pick a free slot in Microsoft Bookings (opens in a new tab) and receive the confirmation with the Teams link by email. Prefer to write? support@timecockpit.com