Skip to content
Venheim
A server in a linen apron writing on a notepad by a bright window

Guide · Template · Working time

Working time records: a template for Austria to print

Venheim editorial team

Updated 6 min read

This template contains the details § 26 AZG requires for working time records: start of work, rest breaks, end of work and the daily total per person and day, plus a monthly total and signatures. You can print it straight away — no email address, no sign-up. What matters is keeping it as you go: enter the times promptly, don't reconstruct them at the end of the month.

One monthly table per person: start, breaks, end and daily total, with header fields for the name and agreed weekly hours, a monthly total and signature lines. This page gives you the template ready to print, together with tips for filling it in and an honest look at where paper reaches its limits.

What § 26 AZG requires — in brief

§ 26 of the Austrian Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, AZG) obliges every employer in Austria to record the start and end of working time and the rest breaks of every employee continuously and reliably — whatever the size of the business. The law does not prescribe a particular technology: paper is allowed as long as the records are made promptly. What missing records can cost and how long to keep them is covered in the guide to the recording duty — this page is about the tool for it.

Working time record under § 26 AZG — monthly sheet per person

Fill in the header fields, enter the times every day, add them up at the end of the month and sign together. Every employee gets their own sheet per month.

To put on the wall: this page has a print version — only the template is printed, without header or advertising. On a computer press Ctrl/Cmd + P; the print dialogue can also save it as a PDF.

Name

Month / year

Agreed weekly hours

Date / dayStart of workBreaks (from – to)End of workDaily totalNotes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Monthly total

Date, employee's signature

Date, employer's signature

Filling it in properly

Four principles decide whether the sheet becomes a usable record — and each of them takes only seconds a day.

Keep it as you go, don't reconstruct it

§ 26 AZG requires continuous, reliable records — so fill them in on the same day. A sheet completed from memory at the end of the month does not serve the purpose.

Rest breaks from six hours

For more than six hours of work, a break of at least 30 minutes is required (§ 11 AZG). On the template it is entered as “from – to”, not just as a duration.

Cross out corrections, never overwrite

A mistake is simply crossed out and the correct entry written next to it — that way it stays clear what was corrected. Painting over, erasing or correction fluid make the line open to challenge.

Handing the records to employees

Under the AZG, employees have the right to request their records — monthly on request. On paper, a copy of the signed sheet does the job.

Where paper and Excel reach their limits

The template is a legitimate start: it costs nothing, needs no introduction and, kept daily, meets § 26 AZG. But there are three things paper — and an Excel list just the same — cannot do by design:

No real time stamp

The sheet holds what is written on it — not when. Paper cannot prove whether the start really was 8:00 or came from memory.

Can be changed afterwards

A line can be rewritten later without anyone seeing it. Excel makes it even easier: a changed cell leaves no trace.

Open to challenge in an inspection

In a dispute about overtime or in an inspection, credibility counts. A sheet that was clearly written in one sitting negotiates from the weaker position.

If you feel these limits day to day — sheets go missing, the monthly total does not add itself up, the manager has to search for every question —, the digital time clock is the next step: the same records, just clocked at the time instead of remembered.

Keep it digital with Venheim

Once the monthly sheet has become routine, Venheim takes over exactly this part: your team clocks in, out and on break on their own phone — promptly, with a location check. Clock-ins are never deleted, only cancelled or corrected, each with a reason and a log entry; everyone sees their own times and monthly totals whenever they like. The § 26 export comes as a CSV. Start for free, no payment details.

A record that keeps itself: every shift with in, out and hours, corrected only with a reason.Demo data from the sample business Cafe Sunshine, app shown in German
Start free

Try Premium for 30 days, no payment details. After that your business carries on free on the Start plan; records stay readable and exportable.

The sign-up form is in German for now. Inside the app, everyone picks their own language — nine languages, English included.

Important: not legal advice

This guide and the template give a general overview and are expressly not legal advice. The legal position can change and depends on your business, the applicable collective agreement and the individual case. If in doubt, contact a tax adviser, the Austrian Economic Chamber or the Labour Inspectorate.

Related

Time tracking by phoneA time clock under § 26 AZG with a location check, tamper-resistant, § 26 export included.Duty, fines & retentionWhat § 26 AZG requires, which fines apply and how long the records are kept.

Frequently asked questions

Does the template comply with the AZG?
The template contains the details § 26 AZG requires: start and end of working time, the rest breaks and the daily total per person and day, plus a monthly total and signatures. What makes it compliant, though, is how it is kept: the records have to be made continuously and reliably — entered promptly, one sheet per person, corrections traceable. A perfect form filled in from memory at the end of the month does not serve the purpose of the law.
Does every person need their own sheet?
Yes. § 26 AZG requires records for each employee individually — start, end and breaks must be readable per person and day. A single list for the whole team quickly becomes illegible and patchy. That is why the template is laid out as a monthly sheet per person: enter the name and month at the top, print one sheet for every employee and sign it together at the end of the month.
Is the template enough in an inspection?
Kept promptly: yes. Paper is a permitted form — the law does not prescribe a technology. What does not hold up in an inspection is a reconstructed list: the same handwriting, the same pen, thirty lines clearly filled in on one day — that looks hardly credible, and in a dispute about overtime the employee's account then easily prevails. If you keep the template daily and leave corrections visible, you have a usable record.
Is the template available as a PDF?
Yes, through the print dialogue: click the “Print / PDF” button (or Ctrl/Cmd + P) and choose “Save as PDF” as the destination — only the template is printed, without header or advertising. There is deliberately no file download behind an email form: the template is free to use, without signing up and without a newsletter. The easiest way is to print several sheets at once — one per person and month.
Why is the template available without an email address?
Because a form does not have to be a trade. With many downloads, your email address is the price, and the newsletter follows — a poor deal for a sheet of paper. This template is part of the guide and freely accessible. If you want more than paper later, you will find the digital time clock in Venheim — but that is a separate decision, not a condition for printing.
Can I use the template in Germany too?
In principle, yes — the columns cover what has to be recorded in Germany as well: the start, end and duration of daily working time, including breaks. The legal basis is different, though (§ 16 ArbZG, the 2019 ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU, the 2022 decision of the Federal Labour Court), and details such as break rules and retention differ. There is therefore a separate guide to the duty in Germany — if in doubt, check there.

Sources

About Venheim

Venheim is operations software for hospitality, studios and retail — built inside a real business and used there every day. Every feature and every guide comes from that daily work and is tested against it. More about Venheim. Not legal advice — where in doubt, the authority, the chamber or a law firm has the final word.