diff --git a/backend/clock/clock.go b/backend/clock/clock.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d5b2da3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/clock/clock.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package clock
+
+import "time"
+
+// Now returns the current UTC time, used everywhere for wall-clock consistency.
+// All scheduling comparisons, timestamp recording, and duration calculations use
+// this function so they're consistent with the database (TIMESTAMPTZ in UTC).
+func Now() time.Time {
+	return time.Now().UTC()
+}
diff --git a/backend/clock/clock_test.go b/backend/clock/clock_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e24542
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/clock/clock_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package clock
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestNow_ReturnsUTC(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	now := Now()
+	if now.Location() != time.UTC {
+		t.Errorf("clock.Now() returned time in %v, expected UTC", now.Location())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNow_IsReasonable(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	now := Now()
+	// Check it's within the last minute (reasonable)
+	since := time.Since(now)
+	if since < 0 || since > time.Minute {
+		t.Errorf("clock.Now() returned unreasonable time: %v ago", since)
+	}
+}