Stralsund Labor Court dismisses Marburger Bund's lawsuit – HEUKING successfully represents Greifswald University Medicine

The Stralsund Labor Court, in a ruling formally handed down on June 3, 2026 and now accompanied by written reasons, dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Marburger Bund and a physician seeking the introduction of minute-precise electronic time tracking under the so-called “punch clock principle.”

Since January 1, 2025, the collective bargaining agreement for physicians at university hospitals has required that physicians' working hours be recorded through electronic methods in a manner that documents their entire presence at the workplace. The Marburger Bund, a physicians' union, took the position that only prompt, minute-precise recording under the "punch clock principle" satisfied these requirements under the collective bargaining agreement, and filed suit together with a physician from Greifswald University Medicine challenging the existing time-tracking system. The Stralsund Labor Court did not agree with this position and dismissed the lawsuit. The court confirmed that Greifswald University Medicine's existing time-tracking system meets the requirements of the collective bargaining agreement.

Dr. Michael Matthiessen, the attorney who represented Greifswald University Medicine in the proceedings, stated that the Stralsund Labor Court's decision is significant not only for the physicians' collective bargaining agreement but also for other public-sector collective bargaining agreements, since those agreements likewise contain comparable provisions on time tracking.

The Marburger Bund is currently considering whether to appeal to the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Regional Labor Court (Landesarbeitsgericht).

Counsel for Greifswald University Medicine
HEUKING:
Dr. Michael Matthiessen (Employment), Berlin