Our Expert in Germany
Who this is for: HR leaders, in‑house counsel and operations managers with employees in Germany who need clear compliance steps for daily and weekly limits, overtime rules and time‑recording obligations under the Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG) and related EU law.
The working time act germany, formally the Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG), sets the statutory limits on how long employees may work, how rest must be arranged, and (increasingly) how working hours must be recorded. For 2026, the most common questions reaching HR teams are whether a 10‑hour working day is legal and what, if anything, has changed in the law. The short answer is that the core structure of the ArbZG remains in force: the standard daily limit is 8 hours, extendable to 10 hours where an averaging period keeps the average at 8 hours per working day (§3 ArbZG). The more active area of change concerns time recording following European case law, which continues to shape employer obligations in Germany.
This guide explains the statutory framework, the legality of the 10‑hour day, overtime, and the practical steps employers should take to stay compliant.
The working time act germany is the central national statute governing how long and when employees may work. Its purpose is twofold: to protect the health and safety of workers by limiting excessive hours and guaranteeing adequate rest, and to create a framework within which flexible working arrangements can lawfully operate. The full text of the ArbZG is published via Gesetze im Internet and sets out the daily limits, rest periods, break entitlements, night work protections and the restrictions on Sunday and public holiday work.
The ArbZG does not operate in isolation. It implements, at national level, the minimum standards set by the EU Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC, which fixes baseline rules on daily and weekly rest, breaks, maximum weekly working time and annual leave across the European Union. Where the Directive sets a floor, German law frequently builds on it, and in some respects the ArbZG is more protective than the Directive requires. For employers operating across borders, this interaction matters: compliance with German law is the operative obligation for work performed in Germany, but the Directive provides the interpretive backdrop that German courts and authorities apply.
Structurally, the statute is built around a few load‑bearing provisions. Section 3 (§3 ArbZG) governs the daily limit and the averaging mechanism. Section 4 deals with rest breaks during the working day. Section 5 (§5 ArbZG) fixes the minimum rest period between working days. Sections 9 and 11 (§§9, 11 ArbZG) address Sunday and public holiday work and the compensatory rest that must follow. Understanding where an obligation sits within this structure is essential, because exceptions and collective‑agreement flexibilities are tied to specific sections rather than applying across the statute as a whole.
On the question of 2026 legislative change, employers should proceed carefully. The core daily‑limit and rest‑period rules of the working time act germany remain in force as drafted. Where reform proposals circulate, for example, around moving from a daily to a weekly maximum, or around statutory time‑recording detail, they should be treated as proposals until confirmed through the legislative process and published. Employers are advised to monitor the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) for official guidance and legislative updates rather than relying on secondary commentary, and to label any unconfirmed change internally as a proposal pending verification.
The working time act germany applies broadly to employees (Arbeitnehmer) in both the private and public sectors. However, the statute contains specific exclusions. Certain senior managerial employees (leitende Angestellte) fall outside the core daily and weekly limits, reflecting the autonomy they exercise over their own working patterns. The self‑employed are not employees for these purposes and are therefore outside the scope of the ArbZG entirely. Particular categories, such as certain roles in family households and specific public‑service, healthcare or emergency functions, are subject to separate or modified treatment under the statute and related instruments.
Because the boundary of the managerial exemption is interpreted narrowly, employers should not assume that a senior job title alone removes an individual from the statutory limits; the substance of the role governs.
Collective bargaining agreements (Tarifverträge) and works agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen) play a significant role in shaping working time in practice. The ArbZG expressly permits certain limits, including aspects of the averaging period and some exceptions, to be adjusted through collective agreements, within the ceilings the statute allows. This means that two employers in the same sector may operate different lawful arrangements depending on the applicable collective agreement. Works councils also hold co‑determination rights over the scheduling and distribution of working time, which affects how overtime, shift patterns and time‑off arrangements are introduced.
Before changing any working‑time practice, employers with a works council must factor in these participation rights, and in‑house counsel should check the applicable collective agreement first, because it may already resolve questions the statute leaves open.
Yes, a 10‑hour working day can be lawful in Germany, but only under conditions. Section 3 of the working time act germany provides that the daily working time (die werktägliche Arbeitszeit) of employees must not exceed 8 hours. Crucially, the same provision allows this to be extended to up to 10 hours per working day, provided that the average does not exceed 8 hours per working day across a reference period of six calendar months or 24 weeks (§3 ArbZG). In other words, the 10‑hour day is a ceiling available on a flexible basis, not a new standard; it must be balanced out by shorter days within the averaging window.
A worked example illustrates the mechanism. Suppose an employer operates a six‑day working week for part of a busy season and schedules employees for 10 hours on several of those days. To remain compliant, the total hours across the 24‑week reference period must not exceed what 8 hours per working day would produce over the same period. If an employee works 10 hours on certain days, the employer must schedule correspondingly shorter days, or non‑working days, so that the running average returns to 8 hours per working day by the end of the window. The averaging is not optional bookkeeping; it is the legal condition that makes the extended day permissible in the first place.
Two practical points follow for payroll and scheduling. First, the ArbZG limits are framed around the “working day” (Werktag) and the hours actually worked, so the maximum applies to the sum of working time regardless of how shifts are labelled. Employers running split shifts or extended rosters must track the total daily working time against the 10‑hour ceiling. Second, the statutory maximum under §3 is a health‑and‑safety limit; it is distinct from whether those hours are classified as, or paid as, overtime. The legality of the hours and the remuneration of the hours are separate questions, governed by different sources, the statute for the former, and the contract or collective agreement for the latter.
Confusing the two is a common compliance error, because an employer can breach the working time act germany even where overtime has been correctly paid.
Overtime is one of the most misunderstood areas of German employment law, precisely because the working time act germany does not set overtime pay rates. The ArbZG regulates the maximum hours and the required rest; it does not require any premium for additional hours. Whether and how overtime is compensated is a matter for the individual employment contract, any applicable collective bargaining agreement, and works agreements. This is a critical distinction for HR: statutory compliance (staying within §3 limits and respecting §5 rest periods) and contractual compensation (how extra hours are paid) are two separate obligations that must both be satisfied.
In practice, overtime (Überstunden) is typically defined as work performed beyond the agreed contractual working hours. Because there is no statutory overtime premium, the compensation structure depends entirely on what the parties have agreed. Some contracts provide for additional pay, sometimes with a premium set by a collective agreement; others provide for compensatory time off in lieu (Freizeitausgleich); and many combine the two. Collective agreements frequently prescribe specific premiums and the conditions under which they apply, so the applicable Tarifvertrag is often the decisive document.
Employers should also be aware that attempts to “include” unlimited overtime in salary through broad clauses are vulnerable to challenge where the clause is not sufficiently transparent about the scope of hours covered, as German courts apply strict transparency controls to standard contract terms.
For HR leaders negotiating or reviewing arrangements, several points warrant attention. Clarity on the trigger for overtime (hours beyond the contractual norm, or beyond a specified threshold) avoids disputes. The compensation method, pay, time off, or a blend, should be stated explicitly. Any averaging or flexitime arrangement should be reconciled with the §3 ArbZG limits, so that flexible scheduling does not inadvertently breach the statutory ceiling. And because overtime scheduling engages works council co‑determination, the introduction or variation of overtime practices should be coordinated with employee representatives where one exists.
A well‑drafted overtime clause removes ambiguity about when overtime arises and how it is compensated. The following is an example of the type of clause an employer might use; it must be reviewed by a qualified lawyer and adapted to the applicable collective agreement before use.
Sample clause (illustrative only): “The regular weekly working time is [X] hours. Work performed at the employer’s request beyond the agreed working time constitutes overtime. Overtime shall, at the employer’s reasonable discretion, be compensated either by corresponding time off in lieu to be taken within [period] or by additional remuneration at the rate set out in the applicable collective agreement. All working time, including overtime, shall be recorded in accordance with the employer’s time‑recording policy and shall remain within the limits of the Arbeitszeitgesetz.”
Clauses should avoid open‑ended language suggesting that an unlimited amount of overtime is already covered by the base salary, as such wording is prone to being held ineffective. Specifying the mechanism, the compensation route and the link to the recording policy produces a clearer and more defensible arrangement.
Time off in lieu (Freizeitausgleich) is a widely used alternative to overtime pay, particularly under flexitime and working‑time‑account (Arbeitszeitkonto) models. Where time off in lieu is offered, the arrangement should be documented: the rate of accrual, the window within which time off must be taken, and what happens to unused balances on termination. Many collective agreements regulate working‑time accounts in detail, including caps on accumulated hours and rules for carrying balances forward, and those provisions prevail over looser contractual language.
Critically, operating a time‑off‑in‑lieu system does not relax the statutory limits of the working time act germany: an employee accumulating a positive balance must still observe the daily maximum and the 11‑hour rest period, because the ArbZG governs health and safety irrespective of how the hours are later compensated.
The single most significant development for the working time act germany in recent years concerns time recording. In Case C‑55/18, decided in 2019, the European Court of Justice held that EU member states must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured. The Court reasoned that without such a system, it is excessively difficult, if not impossible, for workers to enforce their rights to limited working hours and to rest periods under the Working Time Directive.
In 2022, the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, decision 1 ABR 22/21 of 13 September 2022) held that German employers are already under an obligation to record employees’ working time, derived from the occupational health and safety framework (§3 Arbeitsschutzgesetz) read in light of the ECJ ruling. A detailed statutory reform specifying the form of recording has been under discussion but had not been enacted as of the date of this article; employers should verify the current position before relying on any particular formal requirement.
For Germany, the practical consequence is that employers should operate a systematic method of recording daily working time rather than relying on informal or reconstructed records. The recording system does not need to take any single form, clock‑in and clock‑out systems, electronic timekeeping software, and structured manual records can all satisfy the principle, provided the system is objective, reliable and accessible to the worker. What matters is that the hours actually worked are captured in a way that allows both the employer and the employee to verify compliance with the §3 daily limit and the §5 rest period. Employers should align their recording practice with this standard and monitor BMAS guidance for administrative detail on implementation.
Beyond the legal principle, implementation raises operational questions. The chosen system should be consistent across comparable groups of employees, resistant to retrospective alteration, and capable of producing records on request during an inspection. Mobile and remote workers present a particular challenge, because their working time is not observed on site; here, self‑recording through an application, combined with clear policy expectations, is commonly used. Whatever the technology, the organisation should assign responsibility for the integrity of the records and build the recording step into daily routines so that compliance is captured in real time rather than reconstructed after the fact.
A compliant time record should, at minimum, capture the information needed to demonstrate adherence to the statutory limits. Recommended fields include:
Records relevant to the ArbZG, in particular documentation of working time going beyond the daily limit under §16 ArbZG, must be retained for the period required by the statute and kept available for inspection by the supervisory authority. Employers should confirm the applicable retention period against official guidance from the BMAS and the competent state authority and reflect it in the written policy.
Time records contain personal data, so the General Data Protection Regulation and the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) apply. Employers should identify a lawful basis for processing, typically the necessity of complying with a legal obligation and of performing the employment contract, and restrict access to the records to those who need it. Data‑minimisation and storage‑limitation principles mean that only the fields necessary for compliance should be collected, and records should not be kept longer than required. Employees should be informed about the processing in line with transparency obligations.
Because workplace monitoring is a sensitive area, works council co‑determination rights may also be engaged when a technical recording system is introduced, and employers should treat data protection and employee‑representation review as parallel requirements.
Rest is as central to the working time act germany as the limit on hours. Under §5 ArbZG, employees are entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of at least 11 hours after the end of their daily working time. This daily rest is a cornerstone protection, and it constrains scheduling across consecutive days: an employee who finishes late cannot lawfully be required to start again before the 11‑hour rest has elapsed, save where a statutory exception applies. The statute permits limited reductions in defined sectors (for example in healthcare, hospitality and agriculture), typically coupled with compensatory arrangements, but the 11‑hour rule is the default baseline that employers must build their rosters around.
Night work attracts additional protection. The statute provides special rules for night workers (§6 ArbZG), including entitlements connected to occupational‑health examinations and limits designed to mitigate the risks associated with working at night. Employers operating night shifts should ensure these protections are reflected in their scheduling and occupational‑health practices. Sunday and public holiday work is, as a matter of principle, prohibited under the working time act germany (§9 ArbZG), reflecting the constitutional protection of Sundays and recognised public holidays as days of rest. The statute then sets out defined exceptions (§10 ArbZG), for sectors and activities where Sunday or holiday operation is necessary, and requires that employees who work on these days receive compensatory rest (§11 ArbZG).
Employers relying on an exception must be able to point to the specific statutory basis and must grant the replacement rest day the statute requires.
The working time act germany accommodates a range of working arrangements that do not fit the standard office pattern. Senior managerial employees (leitende Angestellte) are, as noted, outside the core daily and weekly limits, in recognition of their autonomy over their own time. Emergency services and certain essential functions are subject to modified rules that allow continuity of operation. On‑call and standby arrangements require careful analysis, because whether time counts as working time depends on the degree of constraint placed on the employee; active on‑call duty (Bereitschaftsdienst), where the employee must be present and ready to work, is generally treated as working time, whereas genuine standby at a location of the employee’s choosing (Rufbereitschaft) is treated differently.
Mobile and remote work does not remove the statutory limits, the 8/10‑hour ceiling and the 11‑hour rest period continue to apply, but it does make recording and oversight more challenging, which is why a clear policy and a reliable self‑recording tool are essential. Where an employer relies on any exception, the basis should be documented in the relevant policy or agreement so that it can be explained and justified during an inspection.
Compliance with the working time act germany is supervised at state level. The competent authorities, such as the Gewerbeaufsichtsämter and the state occupational‑safety authorities (Ämter für Arbeitsschutz), are responsible for monitoring adherence to the statute, and they may inspect working‑time records and practices. Breaches of the statutory limits and obligations can constitute regulatory offences (Ordnungswidrigkeiten) and, in serious or persistent cases, criminal offences under §§22–23 ArbZG. The ability to produce reliable time records is central to demonstrating compliance during an inspection.
Employers should treat the recording obligation and the substantive limits as a single compliance package: good records that show breaches of the hour limits do not protect an employer, and compliant hours that cannot be evidenced leave the organisation exposed.
The following step‑by‑step checklist helps HR and in‑house counsel move from assessment to remediation:
| Issue | Working time act germany (ArbZG) | EU Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC | Employer options / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily working time limit | 8 hours standard; up to 10 hours with averaging (§3 ArbZG) | Sets minimum standards on daily rest that constrain daily hours | Schedule within the 10‑hour ceiling and balance via averaging |
| Averaging period | Six calendar months or 24 weeks to average back to 8 hours (§3 ArbZG) | Reference periods used for weekly limits under the Directive | Collective agreements may adjust within statutory bounds |
| Daily rest period | Minimum 11 hours uninterrupted (§5 ArbZG) | Minimum daily rest required as a baseline standard | Build rosters around the 11‑hour rest; limited sector exceptions |
| Time recording | Operate a system to record daily working time (per C‑55/18 and BAG 1 ABR 22/21) | Underpins enforceability of hour and rest limits (C‑55/18) | Clock systems, electronic tools or structured manual records |
| Sunday / holiday work | Generally prohibited with compensatory rest for exceptions (§§9, 11 ArbZG) | Rest principles underpin weekly rest standards | Rely only on a specific statutory exception; grant replacement rest |
| Key exemptions | Senior managers, emergency functions, defined sectors | Derogations permitted for certain roles and activities | Document the statutory basis for any exemption relied upon |
The working time act germany sets clear, enforceable limits that every employer with staff in Germany must respect: an 8‑hour standard day extendable to 10 hours with averaging (§3 ArbZG), an 11‑hour minimum daily rest (§5 ArbZG), restrictions on Sunday and public holiday work (§§9, 11 ArbZG), and, following Case C‑55/18 and the Federal Labour Court’s 2022 decision, an obligation to record daily working time. Overtime compensation sits outside the statute and depends on the contract and any collective agreement, which makes clear drafting and documented time‑off‑in‑lieu arrangements essential. For 2026, the practical priority is to audit records, align the recording system with the ECJ standard, update contract clauses, and engage the works council where one exists.
Employers that treat the hour limits, rest rules and recording obligation as a single compliance package will be best placed for an inspection. For tailored advice on applying the working time act germany to your organisation, contact a Germany employment lawyer through the Global Law Experts directory.
This article was produced by Global Law Experts. For specialist advice on this topic, contact Dr. Gero Schneider M.C.L. at talas Rechtsanwalte, a member of the Global Law Experts network.
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