How satisfied a worker is is, in addition to the salary, largely determined by working hours - and this can vary widely by industry. The legal regulations can be found in the Working Hours Act . But not only the working time is recorded in this set of rules. Break times and rest periods are also regulated in the Working Hours Act, which is why it bears the name Arbeitsschutzgesetz . Employers who do not comply with the applicable rules can be prosecuted. Violations are considered a misdemeanor and can result in a severe fine ...
Working time law: Legal regulations in Germany
Working time law Definition rest time breaks maximum working time per dayThe German Working Time Act (ArbZG) sets the framework conditions for the daily working hours that are still permissible for employees. It also regulates breaks and breaks, work on Sundays and public holidays as well as night shifts.
It concerns the public health and safety at work ; The Working Time Ordinance (AZV) regulates the working hours of federal civil servants.
The German Working Hours Act is not alone in the EU, but implements the requirements of various European directives . In detail these are:
European Directive 93/104 / EC of 23 November 1993 and
Directive 2003/88 / EC on certain aspects of the organization of working time
The Working Hours Act creates general rules for employers and employees in Germany. Especially after the reunification of Germany , a rule that was valid throughout Germany was necessary.
However, the Working Hours Act is not just about regulations, for the sake of the rules, but about occupational health and safety for employees . For example, the free Sunday is based on provisions of the Working Hours Act (Article § 1 ArbZG).
In addition, the legal regulations also contain recommendations and information on how flexible working hours can be designed for employees. In this sense, the Working Hours Act even contributes to a more balanced work-life balance . Above all, a meaningful regulation in terms of overtime is responsible.
Maximum working time per day
According to §3 Working Time Act applies first of all quite clearly: The working time per working day may not exceed eight hours . Breaks are not included in these eight hours, which is why the actual working day is longer - for example, for a one-hour lunch break, a total of nine hours. This results in a maximum working time of 48 hours per week when working every day from Monday to Saturday.
The maximum working time per day may also be exceeded according to the Working Time Act. And that is when the employer has a significantly higher workload in the short term, which can only be managed by working overtime . Working hours can then be extended, for example, for four weeks to ten hours a day .
In return, within the next six months, four weeks must be worked for only six hours per working day. That would mean an average working time of eight hours a day.
Scope: Who applies the Working Hours Act?
In paragraph § 18 ArbZG stipulates that the law does not apply to all workers. The following occupational groups are excluded:
Senior employees within the meaning of § 5 (3) of the Works Constitution Act and chief physicians
Heads of public services and their representatives. This includes civil servants who are allowed to make independent decisions in personnel matters
Employees who care for, educate and / or look after family members (or other persons) on their own responsibility and live together with these persons in a domestic community
Employees in the liturgical field of the churches and religious communities
Young people under the age of 18 (for the group of persons, the Youth Employment Protection Act applies instead)
Soldiers (since January 1, 2016, the EU Working Time Directive has been in force in connection with the Military Working Time Ordinance (SAZV) and the Soldiers Act)
Employees as crew members on merchant ships as defined in § 3 of the Seearbeitsgesetz (Sea Work Act), as well as employees working as crew members of aircraft (for this group of persons EU-Ops applies).
Special protection for teenagers
For employees under the age of 18, special rules apply:
Working hours and shift work: Employees under the age of 18 may work a maximum of 40 hours per week and only Monday through Friday. An exception are industries that work in alternating shifts. There the work on the weekend is also allowed. Night shifts are not allowed.
Breaks and rest: For workers under 18 years longer breaks. You are entitled to a break of 30 minutes from a working time of 4.5 hours. Also, the rest period between two working days is 12 hours. If they are used on Sundays, they are entitled to at least two free Sundays a month as compensation.
Working time law: the prescribed rest periods
One aspect of the Working Time Act is the Occupational Safety and Health as part of the field of social work safety and just refers also to the rest. Only when workers can recover sufficiently after work, health risks are minimized.
The regulations in detail:
After six hours of work, the employee has a break of 30 minutes.
After nine hours , the break extends to 45 minutes.
Workers may not work for more than six hours without rest .
How the break times are ultimately taken, ie whether piece by piece or divided, depends on the employer and the local conditions . For example, there are many areas where breaks are broken down to ensure, for example, that employees can serve customers.
It is possible, for example, to shift work for the break as from 12 to 12.30 lunch break for the first group, from 12.30 to 13 clock lunch break for the second group. These regulations are agreed with the works council or staff council.
Working time law: rest periods
At least eleven hours must elapse between the end of work and the start of the new working day . These serve the employee as a recreation. Even with shift services, these regulations must be adhered to.
In certain areas, such as hospitals, rest periods may be shortened by one hour, but must be compensated for elsewhere. This is intended to protect the health of the employee .
Night and shift work
Working time law breaks overtime working weekThe night work is a special situation in the work area. For night work every work counts between 23 and 6 o'clock, for bakeries and pastry shops between 22 and 5 o'clock work is considered night work. According to § 2 of the Working Hours Act, night work is "any work that covers more than two hours of night time".
In § 6 it says:
The working hours of night workers may not exceed eight hours. It may be extended to up to ten hours only if, notwithstanding § 3, within an entire calendar month or within four weeks, an average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded.
In addition, workers who also work night shift are entitled to a medical examination at least every three years . In this will be checked whether you are still able to work in the night service. The costs are borne by the employer. From the age of 50, the examination can even be carried out annually.
If a worker is at risk from a health risk , he or she can be transferred to a day's work, as far as the operational conditions permit. The same applies to employees with children under the age of twelve or if they care for relatives in need of care at home.
In addition, the employer has to ensure that workers who work in the night service have the same access to further training as their colleagues from the day service.
Sundays and holidays in the working time law
Sundays and public holidays must for employees, according to the Working Hours Act in principle free to be. This provision is regulated in only three sentences in § 9 . But the legislature allows a few exceptions. It is obvious that certain professions are exempted from this rule. Because, of course, many workers want to visit a restaurant or go to the movies in their free time - which is usually on the weekend.
These industries, which are exempted from the Sunday regulation, can be found in the much larger Article 10 section. Above all, there are professions from the medical-social field , but also the gastronomy. The following exceptions are intended for employees, among others:
in emergency and rescue services and the fire department
to maintain public safety and order: police, Bundeswehr
in hospitals, care facilities for the care and care of persons
in catering and hotel industry for hospitality and accommodation
at music events, theater, drama and similar events
in churches, religious societies, associations, associations, parties
in sports and in recreational, recreational and entertainment facilities, such as museums and zoos
in the media sector (as far as the current day is concerned) such as radio, press, news agencies
at fairs, exhibitions, markets and folk festivals
in the carriage of persons in public local and long-distance transport
in agriculture and animal husbandry as well as treatment and care of animals
in the security industry and in the supervision of plant installations
The employee is legally entitled to at least 15 free Sundays a year . If a worker has to work on a Sunday, he is entitled to a replacement rest day within two weeks. If a public holiday falls on a working day and an employee has to work on that day, he or she will be entitled to a replacement holiday within eight weeks.
But again, there are exceptions:
Only at least ten free Sundays for staff in hospitals and care facilities,
only at least eight free Sundays for employees in broadcasting, theater operations and orchestras and
even less with workers in the cinema and in animal care: here are only at least six free Sundays.
FAQ: Questions and answers about the working time law
There are always questions and ambiguities surrounding the Working Hours Act, which is why we have answered some of the most common questions in a small FAQ on the Working Hours Act for you:
Over what period of time may the daily maximum working time be exceeded?
When working overtime, it is crucial that over an extended period the average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded. The Working Hours Act stipulates that for a period of six calendar months or 24 weeks, the average must be eight hours (or less).
Your employer must therefore pay attention to this and provide you with ongoing overtime appropriate reductions in order not to exceed the average working time set in the Working Time Act. For example, there is no well-defined timeframe on how to increase your daily working hours to up to 10 hours - the longer it takes, the more time you have to spend on recreational activities to stay on average.
What's in return for overtime?
As overtime , however, the work is called that on the agreed working beyond.
The employer may only claim overtime if it is necessary for the company and at the same time reasonable for the employee . The positive side: There is no legal obligation for overtime. The negative: A legal regulation for their dismantling also not. Therefore, the regulation of overtime is a matter of negotiation between employer and employee.
The employee is only entitled to compensation if he informs the employer about overtime. These must have been approved. If an employee works beyond the legally permitted ten hours, this can lead to a warning.
Compensation for overtime may be remunerated through separate payments or by appropriate time off . In some sectors, the compensation is regulated by collective agreement. If this is not the case for you, you should make a written record of the arrangements made with your employer.
What happens in the case of violations of the Working Hours Act?
The Working Hours Act is intended to protect employees and grant them important rights. Unfortunately, not every employer sticks to it and so it always comes back to violations. An excessively long working time may already be prescribed in the employment contract, as a result of which this provision will become invalid and must be replaced by the maximum allowable according to the Working Time Act.
Also, not everywhere great importance is placed on how many employees work and whether the regulations of the Working Hours Act are respected. The employer has a documentation obligation when employees work longer.
One of the tasks of the works council is to ensure that the regulations of the Working Hours Act are adhered to. If an employer violates the Working Hours Act, this misconduct can be punished according to § 22 ArbZG as an administrative offense with a fine of up to € 15,000 per offense.
Violations in this context include, for example, that the minimum rest period is not granted or reduced. Critics complain that in certain industries, such as the catering, regularly comes to 70-hour weeks. In other words, compliance with the Working Hours Act is in part only insufficiently checked.
In extreme cases, you can even refuse to work if your boss urges you to violate the Working Hours Act.
Which times are part of the daily working hours?
Perhaps the most important provision in the Working Hours Act is that daily working hours (normally) should not exceed eight hours. However, the question arises: what times are expected at these eight hours? Basically, this means the time from the official start to the end of the work - breaks are not taken into account. For example, a working day of 9:18 am would include eight hours of work plus an hour's break.
If no fixed working hours are specified, for example with flexible working time models such as flexitime, employees can determine how late their daily work begins. You are then also responsible for respecting the Working Hours Act.
On the other hand, the time you spend on your way to work and back has nothing to do with working hours and falls into your private free time.
Working time law: Legal regulations in Germany
Working time law Definition rest time breaks maximum working time per dayThe German Working Time Act (ArbZG) sets the framework conditions for the daily working hours that are still permissible for employees. It also regulates breaks and breaks, work on Sundays and public holidays as well as night shifts.
It concerns the public health and safety at work ; The Working Time Ordinance (AZV) regulates the working hours of federal civil servants.
The German Working Hours Act is not alone in the EU, but implements the requirements of various European directives . In detail these are:
European Directive 93/104 / EC of 23 November 1993 and
Directive 2003/88 / EC on certain aspects of the organization of working time
The Working Hours Act creates general rules for employers and employees in Germany. Especially after the reunification of Germany , a rule that was valid throughout Germany was necessary.
However, the Working Hours Act is not just about regulations, for the sake of the rules, but about occupational health and safety for employees . For example, the free Sunday is based on provisions of the Working Hours Act (Article § 1 ArbZG).
In addition, the legal regulations also contain recommendations and information on how flexible working hours can be designed for employees. In this sense, the Working Hours Act even contributes to a more balanced work-life balance . Above all, a meaningful regulation in terms of overtime is responsible.
Maximum working time per day
According to §3 Working Time Act applies first of all quite clearly: The working time per working day may not exceed eight hours . Breaks are not included in these eight hours, which is why the actual working day is longer - for example, for a one-hour lunch break, a total of nine hours. This results in a maximum working time of 48 hours per week when working every day from Monday to Saturday.
The maximum working time per day may also be exceeded according to the Working Time Act. And that is when the employer has a significantly higher workload in the short term, which can only be managed by working overtime . Working hours can then be extended, for example, for four weeks to ten hours a day .
In return, within the next six months, four weeks must be worked for only six hours per working day. That would mean an average working time of eight hours a day.
Scope: Who applies the Working Hours Act?
In paragraph § 18 ArbZG stipulates that the law does not apply to all workers. The following occupational groups are excluded:
Senior employees within the meaning of § 5 (3) of the Works Constitution Act and chief physicians
Heads of public services and their representatives. This includes civil servants who are allowed to make independent decisions in personnel matters
Employees who care for, educate and / or look after family members (or other persons) on their own responsibility and live together with these persons in a domestic community
Employees in the liturgical field of the churches and religious communities
Young people under the age of 18 (for the group of persons, the Youth Employment Protection Act applies instead)
Soldiers (since January 1, 2016, the EU Working Time Directive has been in force in connection with the Military Working Time Ordinance (SAZV) and the Soldiers Act)
Employees as crew members on merchant ships as defined in § 3 of the Seearbeitsgesetz (Sea Work Act), as well as employees working as crew members of aircraft (for this group of persons EU-Ops applies).
Special protection for teenagers
For employees under the age of 18, special rules apply:
Working hours and shift work: Employees under the age of 18 may work a maximum of 40 hours per week and only Monday through Friday. An exception are industries that work in alternating shifts. There the work on the weekend is also allowed. Night shifts are not allowed.
Breaks and rest: For workers under 18 years longer breaks. You are entitled to a break of 30 minutes from a working time of 4.5 hours. Also, the rest period between two working days is 12 hours. If they are used on Sundays, they are entitled to at least two free Sundays a month as compensation.
Working time law: the prescribed rest periods
One aspect of the Working Time Act is the Occupational Safety and Health as part of the field of social work safety and just refers also to the rest. Only when workers can recover sufficiently after work, health risks are minimized.
The regulations in detail:
After six hours of work, the employee has a break of 30 minutes.
After nine hours , the break extends to 45 minutes.
Workers may not work for more than six hours without rest .
How the break times are ultimately taken, ie whether piece by piece or divided, depends on the employer and the local conditions . For example, there are many areas where breaks are broken down to ensure, for example, that employees can serve customers.
It is possible, for example, to shift work for the break as from 12 to 12.30 lunch break for the first group, from 12.30 to 13 clock lunch break for the second group. These regulations are agreed with the works council or staff council.
Working time law: rest periods
At least eleven hours must elapse between the end of work and the start of the new working day . These serve the employee as a recreation. Even with shift services, these regulations must be adhered to.
In certain areas, such as hospitals, rest periods may be shortened by one hour, but must be compensated for elsewhere. This is intended to protect the health of the employee .
Night and shift work
Working time law breaks overtime working weekThe night work is a special situation in the work area. For night work every work counts between 23 and 6 o'clock, for bakeries and pastry shops between 22 and 5 o'clock work is considered night work. According to § 2 of the Working Hours Act, night work is "any work that covers more than two hours of night time".
In § 6 it says:
The working hours of night workers may not exceed eight hours. It may be extended to up to ten hours only if, notwithstanding § 3, within an entire calendar month or within four weeks, an average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded.
In addition, workers who also work night shift are entitled to a medical examination at least every three years . In this will be checked whether you are still able to work in the night service. The costs are borne by the employer. From the age of 50, the examination can even be carried out annually.
If a worker is at risk from a health risk , he or she can be transferred to a day's work, as far as the operational conditions permit. The same applies to employees with children under the age of twelve or if they care for relatives in need of care at home.
In addition, the employer has to ensure that workers who work in the night service have the same access to further training as their colleagues from the day service.
Sundays and holidays in the working time law
Sundays and public holidays must for employees, according to the Working Hours Act in principle free to be. This provision is regulated in only three sentences in § 9 . But the legislature allows a few exceptions. It is obvious that certain professions are exempted from this rule. Because, of course, many workers want to visit a restaurant or go to the movies in their free time - which is usually on the weekend.
These industries, which are exempted from the Sunday regulation, can be found in the much larger Article 10 section. Above all, there are professions from the medical-social field , but also the gastronomy. The following exceptions are intended for employees, among others:
in emergency and rescue services and the fire department
to maintain public safety and order: police, Bundeswehr
in hospitals, care facilities for the care and care of persons
in catering and hotel industry for hospitality and accommodation
at music events, theater, drama and similar events
in churches, religious societies, associations, associations, parties
in sports and in recreational, recreational and entertainment facilities, such as museums and zoos
in the media sector (as far as the current day is concerned) such as radio, press, news agencies
at fairs, exhibitions, markets and folk festivals
in the carriage of persons in public local and long-distance transport
in agriculture and animal husbandry as well as treatment and care of animals
in the security industry and in the supervision of plant installations
The employee is legally entitled to at least 15 free Sundays a year . If a worker has to work on a Sunday, he is entitled to a replacement rest day within two weeks. If a public holiday falls on a working day and an employee has to work on that day, he or she will be entitled to a replacement holiday within eight weeks.
But again, there are exceptions:
Only at least ten free Sundays for staff in hospitals and care facilities,
only at least eight free Sundays for employees in broadcasting, theater operations and orchestras and
even less with workers in the cinema and in animal care: here are only at least six free Sundays.
FAQ: Questions and answers about the working time law
There are always questions and ambiguities surrounding the Working Hours Act, which is why we have answered some of the most common questions in a small FAQ on the Working Hours Act for you:
Over what period of time may the daily maximum working time be exceeded?
When working overtime, it is crucial that over an extended period the average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded. The Working Hours Act stipulates that for a period of six calendar months or 24 weeks, the average must be eight hours (or less).
Your employer must therefore pay attention to this and provide you with ongoing overtime appropriate reductions in order not to exceed the average working time set in the Working Time Act. For example, there is no well-defined timeframe on how to increase your daily working hours to up to 10 hours - the longer it takes, the more time you have to spend on recreational activities to stay on average.
What's in return for overtime?
As overtime , however, the work is called that on the agreed working beyond.
The employer may only claim overtime if it is necessary for the company and at the same time reasonable for the employee . The positive side: There is no legal obligation for overtime. The negative: A legal regulation for their dismantling also not. Therefore, the regulation of overtime is a matter of negotiation between employer and employee.
The employee is only entitled to compensation if he informs the employer about overtime. These must have been approved. If an employee works beyond the legally permitted ten hours, this can lead to a warning.
Compensation for overtime may be remunerated through separate payments or by appropriate time off . In some sectors, the compensation is regulated by collective agreement. If this is not the case for you, you should make a written record of the arrangements made with your employer.
What happens in the case of violations of the Working Hours Act?
The Working Hours Act is intended to protect employees and grant them important rights. Unfortunately, not every employer sticks to it and so it always comes back to violations. An excessively long working time may already be prescribed in the employment contract, as a result of which this provision will become invalid and must be replaced by the maximum allowable according to the Working Time Act.
Also, not everywhere great importance is placed on how many employees work and whether the regulations of the Working Hours Act are respected. The employer has a documentation obligation when employees work longer.
One of the tasks of the works council is to ensure that the regulations of the Working Hours Act are adhered to. If an employer violates the Working Hours Act, this misconduct can be punished according to § 22 ArbZG as an administrative offense with a fine of up to € 15,000 per offense.
Violations in this context include, for example, that the minimum rest period is not granted or reduced. Critics complain that in certain industries, such as the catering, regularly comes to 70-hour weeks. In other words, compliance with the Working Hours Act is in part only insufficiently checked.
In extreme cases, you can even refuse to work if your boss urges you to violate the Working Hours Act.
Which times are part of the daily working hours?
Perhaps the most important provision in the Working Hours Act is that daily working hours (normally) should not exceed eight hours. However, the question arises: what times are expected at these eight hours? Basically, this means the time from the official start to the end of the work - breaks are not taken into account. For example, a working day of 9:18 am would include eight hours of work plus an hour's break.
If no fixed working hours are specified, for example with flexible working time models such as flexitime, employees can determine how late their daily work begins. You are then also responsible for respecting the Working Hours Act.
On the other hand, the time you spend on your way to work and back has nothing to do with working hours and falls into your private free time.