Maximum working time and the balancing period
Ten hours a day are permitted, but only with compensation. The calculator shows how much is left in the period.
Your entries
The average of the weeks already worked, in hours.
§ 3 ArbZG lässt beides zu.
Result
Working days within the meaning of the Working Time Act are Monday to Saturday. Eight hours per working day therefore gives 48 weekly hours on average, not 40. Anyone on a five-day week may spread those 48 hours across five days, but no more than ten hours on any single day.
The compensation period of six calendar months or 24 weeks is the statutory default. A collective agreement can extend it under section 7 ArbZG, and special rules apply in care and transport. Check whether a collective agreement applies to your business.
Calculation
- Budget = 48 h × 24 weeks = 1152 h
- Used = 9,5 h × 8 weeks = 76 h
- Remaining = 1152 − 76 = 1076 h
- Per remaining week = 1076 ÷ 16 = 67,25 h
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How it is calculated
Eight hours a working day is 48 hours a week
Under section 3, first sentence, ArbZG, daily working time must not exceed eight hours. Working days are all days except Sundays and public holidays, so Monday to Saturday. Six times eight hours gives 48 weekly hours.
The widespread assumption that the statutory limit is 40 hours confuses the usual contractual full-time figure with the law. A contract for 40 hours leaves room up to 48, but obliges nobody to use it.
The balancing period
Ten hours a working day are permitted if, within six calendar months or 24 weeks, eight hours a working day are not exceeded on average (section 3, second sentence, ArbZG). The business chooses which of the two variants it applies.
More than ten hours is not possible even with compensation. Section 14 ArbZG governs exceptions for extraordinary cases and emergencies, and section 7 ArbZG allows deviating rules by collective agreement.
How the calculator works
The budget is 48 hours times the number of weeks in the period. From that, what was actually worked in the weeks already past is deducted. What remains is spread over the remaining weeks.
Six calendar months are between 25.7 and 26.3 weeks long, depending on where they fall in the year. The calculator assumes 26 weeks; that is enough for planning, while for settling a specific period the actual calendar days count.
Calculating once takes a minute. MetronHR carries these accounts forward continuously, for every employee, and shows the balance at the month end.
Further reading:Section 3 ArbZG · Section 7 ArbZG · Section 22 ArbZG
The calculator covers the basic statutory rules. Collective agreements, works agreements and employment contracts may contain more favourable arrangements, and for a specific case it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
Frequently asked questions
What we get asked about this most often.
48 hours on average, calculated over six calendar months or 24 weeks. In individual weeks up to 60 hours are possible, provided no day exceeds ten hours and the average works out in the end.
Yes. Working days within the meaning of the Working Hours Act are all calendar days except Sundays and public holidays. That is why eight hours a working day gives 48 weekly hours, even though most businesses work five days.
Then there is a breach of section 3 ArbZG. The supervisory authority can issue orders, and fines of up to 30,000 euros under section 22 ArbZG are possible, and in cases of persistent repetition or danger to health even a criminal offence under section 23 ArbZG.
Yes, but not unilaterally. Under section 7 ArbZG, a collective agreement, or a works agreement based on one, can set deviating rules, for instance a longer balancing period. Without collective bargaining coverage, six calendar months or 24 weeks stand.
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Related
Further reading
Rest period: the 11-hour rule and its exceptions
Matching template
Calculate working time with a break check