Germany has some of Europe’s stricter working-time rules, codified in the Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG). The basics are simple: 8 hours per working day (extendable to 10), 48 hours per week on average over 6 months, 11 hours of rest between two working days, mandatory breaks during the day, and Sunday work generally prohibited. The detail and exceptions are where the disputes happen.
Daily limits (§ 3 ArbZG)
The standard daily working time may not exceed 8 hours. This can be extended to up to 10 hours per working day, provided that the average over any 6-month or 24-week reference period does not exceed 8 hours per working day. So you can work a 60-hour week occasionally — but you must „make up” for it with shorter weeks within the next 6 months.
What counts as „working time”:
- Time at the workplace performing duties.
- Time required to be available at the workplace (Bereitschaftsdienst — full working time).
- Required travel between worksites during the working day.
- Business travel where the employee is required to perform work during the travel or where the travel itself is the work task.
What does NOT count as working time:
- The unpaid lunch break.
- The daily commute (home to the primary workplace).
- Pure standby outside the workplace where the employee is free to use the time as they wish (Rufbereitschaft — only the call-out periods are working time).
Weekly limits
The weekly limit follows from the daily limit: 6 working days × 8 hours = 48 hours per week. For employees on the standard 5-day week, this is typically arranged as 40 hours/week. The 48-hour cap is an EU-law cap (Directive 2003/88/EC) and applies on a 6-month or 24-week average basis.
The famous „opt-out” available under the EU Directive (where individual employees can agree to work above 48 hours/week on average) is not available in Germany — § 7 ArbZG does not implement it.
Rest periods (§ 5 ArbZG)
Between two working days, there must be at least 11 consecutive hours of rest. This means: if you finish work at 22:00, you cannot start the next day before 09:00.
The 11-hour rule includes time spent on emergency call-outs in some cases. If an emergency call-out interrupts the rest, the 11-hour clock restarts after the end of the interruption. This is one of the most-violated rules in „always-on” professional environments.
Rest breaks within the working day (§ 4 ArbZG)
Mandatory breaks during the working day:
- After 6 hours of work: at least a 30-minute break.
- After 9 hours of work: at least a 45-minute break (which can be split into 15-minute segments).
The break is unpaid by default (it is not working time). It must be taken — the employee cannot validly waive it. In practice, eating at the desk while continuing to work is not a valid break; the employee must be free of work duties during the break.
Sunday and public holiday work (§§ 9-13 ArbZG)
Work on Sundays and on the statutory public holidays in the federal state is generally prohibited (§ 9 ArbZG). Exceptions exist for specific sectors: healthcare, emergency services, hospitality, transport, broadcasting, sports, agriculture, certain manufacturing processes that cannot be interrupted, and others listed in §§ 10–14 ArbZG.
Where Sunday work is permitted by exception:
- The employee is entitled to a substitute rest day (Ersatzruhetag) within 2 weeks before or after the Sunday worked (§ 11(3) ArbZG).
- Surcharges (Sonntagszuschlag) typically apply by contract or collective agreement — typically 50% for Sundays, 100% for public holidays. These are not statutory but contractual.
- Sunday-work surcharges paid as „SFN-Zuschläge” up to certain limits are tax-free under § 3b EStG.
The employer needs at least 15 Sundays per year to be free of work for each employee (§ 11(1) ArbZG) — i.e., the employee cannot be assigned to work every Sunday.
Night work (§§ 2(3), 6 ArbZG)
Night work means at least 2 hours of work between 23:00 and 06:00 (in bakeries and some other sectors: 22:00–05:00). Night workers are entitled to:
- Regular medical check-ups (every 3 years; annually after age 50).
- Special protections for parents and shift workers.
- Surcharges or paid compensation time (typically by contract or collective agreement).
- Reassignment rights where night work is contraindicated for health reasons.
Special groups — additional protections
Young workers (under 18)
Under the Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (JArbSchG): maximum 8 hours/day and 40 hours/week (5-day week). No work between 20:00 and 06:00 (with exceptions for hospitality, agriculture, baking, transport). Sunday work generally prohibited (with sector exceptions). Required vacation: 30 working days/year for under-16s, 27 for 16-year-olds, 25 for 17-year-olds.
Pregnant women and new mothers
Under the Mutterschutzgesetz (MuSchG): no work between 20:00 and 06:00 (with limited exceptions); no Sunday work in most cases; protected from overtime; reduced working time on medical recommendation. Mandatory leave from 6 weeks before to 8 weeks after birth (12 weeks for premature or multiple births).
Severely disabled employees (Schwerbehinderte)
Under § 207 SGB IX: right to refuse overtime upon request. Additional 5 days of paid vacation per year.
Vertrauensarbeitszeit (trust-based working time)
Some employers — particularly in tech, consulting, and senior roles — operate Vertrauensarbeitszeit, where employees self-manage their hours without time recording. Under current case-law (BAG, 13.9.2022, 1 ABR 22/21):
- The employer is still obliged to ensure that working time limits are respected.
- The employer must still have an objective time-recording system in place — Vertrauensarbeitszeit does not exempt the employer from this duty.
- Where the system is missing, the employee’s reasonable estimate of overtime is the starting point in any dispute.
Pure Vertrauensarbeitszeit without any recording is now legally untenable. The employer must record — even if recording is delegated to the employee with employer oversight.
Enforcement and consequences for breaches
Two enforcement routes:
Public enforcement (Gewerbeaufsicht)
The Gewerbeaufsicht (state labor inspectorate) can audit working-time compliance. Penalties include:
- Fines up to €15,000 per violation (§ 22 ArbZG).
- For deliberate or repeated violations: criminal penalties up to 1 year imprisonment (§ 23 ArbZG).
- Public exposure (some inspectorates publish enforcement actions).
Private enforcement (employee claims)
- Overtime-pay claims (where the Abgeltungsklausel is invalid).
- Refusal to perform unlawful overtime (you can refuse without it being insubordination).
- Where the breach is chronic and substantial: grounds for extraordinary termination by the employee with damages.
- Health-and-safety damages claims where the breach causes illness (rare but possible).
Practical implications for expat employees
Worked example
Marcus, a project consultant at a Cologne consulting firm, regularly works 10–12 hour days during client engagements, with 23:00 emails followed by 07:30 morning client calls. €78,000/year, 40-hour contract. Contract says „all overtime included”.
Issues:
- Salary is below the €7,550/month threshold (~€6,500/month gross) — Abgeltungsklausel likely invalid.
- 11-hour rest violations are routine — § 5 ArbZG breach.
- Average weekly hours over 6 months exceeds 48 — § 3 ArbZG breach.
- Overtime hours documented via email timestamps and project hour logs.
We file: (1) overtime-pay claim for the last 12 months (~600 hours × €37.50 = €22,500), (2) anonymous Gewerbeaufsicht complaint on the chronic ArbZG breaches (against the firm, not flagging Marcus individually). Settlement at €18,000 within 8 weeks; firm subsequently introduces compliant time recording.