Working Time Reform: A Weekly Maximum

Working time reform in Germany: where things stand

Working time reform is one of the most debated employment law projects of the current federal government. The coalition agreement concluded by CDU/CSU and SPD in 2025 announced the aim of allowing a weekly instead of a daily maximum working time, in line with the EU Working Time Directive, and of regulating the recording of working time.

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) prepared a ministerial draft amending the Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG), dated 18 June 2026. According to the Bundestag's lobby register, which listed stakeholder submissions on this draft as of 6 October 2026, the project was still at the stage of the ministerial draft; we have not seen a government bill introduced in the Bundestag as of the date of this article. The content and timing of any final law therefore remain open, and businesses should treat reported details with caution until a bill is published.

For employers, the reform could bring more flexibility for peak periods, project work and four-day weeks. It will not, however, remove the EU-law limits on average weekly working time and daily rest, nor the duty to record working time that the Federal Labour Court has already established. This article explains the current law, the reform proposals, their interaction with EU law and how businesses can prepare.

The current law: daily maximum and rest periods

Under § 3 ArbZG, working time on a working day may not exceed eight hours. It may be extended to ten hours only if an average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded within six calendar months or 24 weeks. Because Saturdays count as working days, the statute effectively allows an average of 48 hours per week. After the end of daily working time, employees must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours (§ 5(1) ArbZG). Breaks of at least 30 minutes are required for more than six hours of work and 45 minutes for more than nine hours (§ 4 ArbZG).

Collective agreements, and works agreements based on them, may deviate in certain respects, for example by extending working time beyond ten hours where it regularly includes a significant amount of on-call time, or by setting different reference periods (§ 7 ArbZG). Sunday and public holiday work is generally prohibited, with many exceptions. Breaches can be fined up to EUR 30,000 (§ 22(2) ArbZG), and intentional breaches that endanger health are criminal offences.

The ArbZG itself requires employers to record only working time exceeding eight hours per working day (§ 16(2) ArbZG). But the Federal Labour Court held in its order of 13 September 2022 – 1 ABR 22/21 that employers are already obliged under § 3(2) no. 1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to record the start and end of daily working time, following the CJEU's judgment of 14 May 2019 in CCOO, C-55/18. The method of recording is not prescribed by statute.

Working time reform and the EU Working Time Directive

Any working time reform must respect the Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC. The directive does not set a daily maximum. It requires a minimum daily rest of eleven consecutive hours in each 24-hour period, a weekly rest period, breaks, and a maximum average working week of 48 hours including overtime, calculated over a reference period of generally up to four months, extendable in certain cases by collective agreement. A weekly maximum would therefore be compatible with EU law as long as the eleven-hour daily rest is preserved and the 48-hour average is respected.

The daily rest requirement limits how far a weekly model can concentrate working time. With eleven hours of rest and breaks, the theoretical maximum on a single day is about twelve to thirteen hours. Reports on the ministerial draft have focused on the possibility of longer working days, for example twelve hours, combined with shorter days or additional days off. Whether the final law allows this generally, or only through collective agreements, is one of the central political questions.

One point deserves attention. The directive's 48-hour average over a reference period of generally four months is stricter than the current German averaging over six months in some respects. A reform that moves to a weekly maximum will have to align the reference period with EU law unless a collective agreement provides otherwise.

Time recording: what is already required

Regardless of the reform, employers must record working time now. The BAG derived the duty from occupational safety law, so it applies to all employees within the scope of the ArbZG, with exceptions for senior executives and certain other groups. The system must be objective, reliable and accessible. Trust-based working time (Vertrauensarbeitszeit), where the employer does not control working hours, is still possible in the sense that employees organise their own hours, but the hours must be recorded. Employers may delegate recording to employees, for example through an app or spreadsheet, provided they check the records.

The BAG also held that the works council has no right of initiative to demand the introduction of an electronic recording system, because the law already obliges the employer to record; the works council does, however, co-determine how the system is designed and used. A statutory regulation of time recording, as announced in the coalition agreement, may introduce specifics such as electronic recording, deadlines and exceptions for small businesses. Our article on occupational health and safety explains the underlying duties under the ArbSchG.

Mobile work, travel time and on-call duty

Three practical issues shape working time compliance regardless of the reform. First, mobile and home-based work: the ArbZG applies in full to work outside the office, including e-mails answered late in the evening, which can interrupt the eleven-hour rest period. Clear rules on availability and on recording short work episodes are needed.

Second, business travel: whether travel time counts as working time depends on whether the employee is required to work or drive during the journey; passive travel by train or plane outside normal hours is often not working time under the ArbZG, although it may be remunerated under the contract.

Third, on-call duty: standby at the workplace (Bereitschaftsdienst) is working time, whereas on-call duty from home (Rufbereitschaft) generally counts only for the periods of actual work, unless the constraints on the employee's free time are so significant that the CJEU's criteria for working time are met. A weekly maximum would not change these classifications, but it would change how much flexibility employers have in distributing the resulting hours across the week and how they plan rest periods after long assignments.

Collective agreements and co-determination

Working time is a core area of co-determination. The works council co-determines the start and end of daily working time, breaks and the distribution of working time across the days of the week (§ 87(1) no. 2 BetrVG), as well as temporary reductions or extensions of normal working time (§ 87(1) no. 3 BetrVG). Even if the law allows a weekly maximum, employers with a works council will need a works agreement to introduce longer days or four-day weeks. Collective agreements in many sectors already set weekly working hours below the statutory maximum and contain their own flexibility rules, which a statutory reform does not override.

The reform is therefore likely to be most significant for businesses without collective agreements and for highly flexible roles. For unionised businesses, it may expand the room for agreements on working-time accounts and flexible models, depending on how the law treats deviations by collective agreement.

How employers can prepare for working time reform

1. Map current working-time models by group of employees, including trust-based working time, shift systems and mobile work.
2. Implement or update time recording now, with clear responsibilities for checking records and handling breaches.
3. Review working-time clauses in employment contracts, which often refer to daily hours and overtime compensation.
4. Check applicable collective agreements and works agreements for flexibility already available, such as working-time accounts and reference periods.
5. Assess which business areas would benefit from a weekly model, such as seasonal peaks, field service or project teams, and prepare draft works agreements.
6. Consider health and safety: longer working days require an updated risk assessment, including psychological stress, and attention to rest periods.

Illustration: a software company wants to offer a four-day week with ten-hour days. Under current law this is possible, since ten hours are allowed when the average of eight hours per working day is respected and Saturdays count as working days. A twelve-hour day for project sprints, however, is not permitted without a collective-agreement basis. Whether the reform would allow such days, and on what conditions, depends on the final law.

Outlook

The ministerial draft of June 2026 indicates that working time reform is moving forward, but significant points remain contested between the coalition partners, unions and employer associations. Employers should follow the legislative process on the Bundestag's documentation system and plan for a law that introduces both flexibility and stricter recording rules. Related developments include the use of AI in workforce management, discussed in our article on AI in recruitment and HR, and works council negotiations covered on our works councils page.

How TRW & Co helps

We advise employers on working time law and on preparing for working time reform: assessing current models, implementing time recording, drafting working-time clauses and negotiating works agreements on flexible working, working-time accounts and four-day weeks. We monitor the legislative process and assess its impact on collective agreements and existing arrangements. In inspections by occupational safety authorities and in disputes over overtime, we represent employers before authorities and labour courts. Our employment and pensions team can be reached via our contact page. This article provides general information and is not legal advice.