Germany prepares shift to weekly working time limits

At a glance

• Germany’s Federal Minister of Labour has announced that a draft bill on more flexible working time rules is expected in June.
• The reform would implement the coalition agreement proposal to allow a weekly, rather than daily, maximum working time.
• The proposal is politically contentious because, if the statutory minimum rest period remains unchanged, longer individual working days could become possible.
• The Ministry intends to regulate electronic working time recording at the same time, with the stated aim of preventing longer hours from becoming exploitative.

The German government is preparing a working time reform. According to the Federal Minister of Labour, a draft bill introducing more flexible working time rules is expected to be published in June. The core proposal is to move away from the current system of a daily maximum working time and create scope for a weekly maximum instead. The proposal reflects an agreement between the governing coalition parties to introduce greater flexibility into the German Working Time Act. 

Working time in Germany is regulated by the Working Time Act. Under the current rules, employees must generally not work more than eight hours on a working day. This may be extended to up to ten hours, provided that the statutory average is maintained over the relevant reference period. The system is therefore built around a daily limit, even though some flexibility already exists. The proposed reform would change that emphasis. Instead of focusing primarily on the length of each working day, the law would allow working time to be assessed by reference to a weekly maximum. The practical effect could be that longer working days become possible, provided the weekly limit and applicable rest periods are observed.

The Federal Minister of Labour has made clear that electronic working time recording is intended to form part of the same legislative package. This is designed to ensure that any expansion of flexibility does not result in uncontrolled or excessive working hours.

The proposal remains highly controversial. Trade unions have rejected the reform, arguing that existing law already permits sufficient flexibility and that weakening the daily limit could undermine employee protection. It is also expected that reaching agreement between the governing parties, the employee-oriented SPD and the CDU, on this issue will involve extensive further debate.