Is there a statutory minimum working time?

In a classic employment relationship, no. Here employers and employees negotiate the daily target hours in the contract, or set a weekly or monthly target. In the latter case, employees are then free to choose which days they work those hours. It is different with on-call work. Here a shift has to last at least three consecutive hours.

What is the general maximum working time?

By law, employees may not work more than eight hours a day. This can be increased to 10 hours a day, provided it is balanced out later. After that, a rest break of at least 11 hours is required.

Minimum and maximum working hours in Germany

Is there a maximum and a minimum working time?

How long am I allowed to work on a normal working day, and for how long does my employer have to employ me per shift as a minimum? With on-call work and flexible working hours in particular, this question can come up more often. Unfortunately the answer is not that simple.

Is a statutory weekly maximum working time on the way?

In the 2025 coalition agreement, the CDU/CSU and the SPD promise to pass a law on weekly maximum working time. The aim is to give employees more flexibility in how they organise their working hours.

You can find more on the coalition agreement and weekly maximum working time here.

What counts as working time?

Working time is the time from the start of work to the end of work, excluding rest periods. The statutory rest break of 11 hours interrupts work.

Working time begins the moment the work-related activities set out in the contract are carried out.

“Work is any activity that serves to satisfy someone else's need (the employer's interest). This includes the activity owed under the contract or the activity subject to the employer's right to issue instructions.” (Bundesarbeitsgesetz)

The journey to work does not count as working time. Putting on work clothing does, however, particularly where it is protective clothing required by law.

How long may a shift be?

The length of working time usually follows from the employment contract or the collective agreement. If there is no precise agreement on the minimum daily working time, the statutory working time applies, and with it the maximum working time of eight hours a day.

An employer can extend the daily maximum working time to up to ten hours without having to give a special reason for the extension. However, this extension, also known as additional work, is only permitted if the hours are balanced out by a reduction at a later point.

How long does a shift have to be as a minimum?

The minimum working time is the working time an employee has to put in each day as a minimum. Employers and employees can negotiate this target, meaning the minimum number of hours to be worked.

So there are no precise rules on how long a shift has to be. There are, however, rules within the framework of on-call work.

Man walking away from a van, looking at a phone in his hand, various building materials in the background

Special working time rules

Special rules apply to certain groups of people. These are above all minors and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Maximum working time for minors

Minors between 15 and 18 years old may work a maximum of 40 hours a week, and (except in care work or hospitality) only on working days.

From four hours of working time onwards they have to take a break of at least 30 minutes. The rest period between two working days may not be less than 12 hours.

On top of that, minors have to have at least two Sundays off per month. The detailed rules for working with young people are set out in the German Youth Employment Protection Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz).

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

For pregnant or breastfeeding women, the statutory daily maximum working time is 8.5 hours. Across a double week (that is, two weeks added together) they may work a maximum of 90 hours.

If the pregnant or breastfeeding woman is under 18 years old, a maximum working time of 8 hours applies, and 80 hours in a double week.

Working overtime is prohibited by law for this group. Night work and work on Sundays and public holidays (where it is legally permitted) may only be carried out in exceptional cases.

Employment until 10 pm is only legitimate with the employee's consent.

On-call work

On-call work, also known as on-call duty, is a special case. Here employers call for work depending on how much work comes in. That lets them deploy employees flexibly.

A minimum working time can be set in the employment contract, which the employee has to work at least per week. If this is not agreed in the contract, there are two ways of calculating the minimum working time:

The working time set in the contract may only be undercut by a maximum of 20 percent. Where a maximum working time has been agreed, it may be undercut by 25 percent.
If nothing has been set in the contract, a minimum working time of 20 hours a week is assumed.

A shift may not be shorter than three hours.

iPad with the clockin app against a green background

Recording hours reliably with digital tools

Employers have to pay employees for the working time they have put in – that is written into the law. To make sure of that, you need a reliable system.

At present the law does not prescribe how these hours have to be recorded, but in April 2023 Hubertus Heil presented a first draft law on electronic time tracking that would oblige employers to record their employees' hours using electronic tools.

One solution for electronic time tracking is digital time tracking, which not only makes sure pay can be checked for accuracy, but is also meant to prevent extra bureaucratic work.

With clockin you move your office into your trouser pocket. Instead of pen and paper or an awkward Excel spreadsheet, employees clock in and out via the app. The recorded data is stored in a cloud and lets you call up an automatic timesheet at the end of the month.

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