There has already been much discussion about how the Watchtower Society has declared in Australia that going door to door is part of a personal ministry. This seems to be a lame attempt to avoid liability considering that they require time reports and have formal meetings for field service at the kingdom hall.
This is a bit of a dilemma. Reporting time and formal meetings for field service are important methods of control, however it's not clear if the organization is willing or able to handle the potential liability that may come from this.
Imagine what would happen if they lost these methods of control. Witnesses could take breaks from the ministry without consequences. The hounders would find it difficult to decide who to hound. The traveling overseers wouldn't have data to help them decide how a congregation is doing. It would be much easier to fade. Their recruitment efforts would likely be reduced to a small fraction of what it is today. They might have to consider changing their disfellowshipping policy to reduce their turnover rate to compensate for slower growth.
They might not even be able to survive in their present form.
This may be like an Achilles' heel that those who are still in for family may be able to exploit. Reporting time for not going in the ministry (or for discussing Bible topics online) or not reporting time while visibly engaged in the formal ministry (perhaps for the benefit of relatives) are great ways to undermine the system. A person could report literature placements, but not hours, based on the idea that the hours are none of their business, but there may be a need to keep track of literature.
Any recordings or documentation of efforts to get a person to report time could be of public interest and useful in the event of lawsuits regarding the organization's liability for the door to door ministry.
Other, more subtle, methods could be used like only reporting hours in multiples of two (two hours per Saturday morning), or only reporting one hour for every month, regardless of the amount of time. If questioned, the example of Ananias and Sapphira could be mentioned to show how God views those who report more than what was given.
A person could only report time when the brother who collects time calls them. This would be a good time to record the conversation.
Someone who has the assignment of handling time reports could stop calling people with reminders with the defense that this could expose him and the organization to liability.
A person could also agree to work with their spouse, but suggest that they don't meet at the hall because it's really supposed to be a personal ministry.
Reporting time is already a joke, but there is much that can be done to make this more obvious.
I look forward to your comments.