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How the annual target arises
The starting point is the contractual weekly working time. It is multiplied by the number of weeks in the year, and then leave and the public holidays falling on working days are deducted, because no work is owed for them anyway.
The result is a single figure for the year. Whether it is worked in January or in July is immaterial to the model, as long as the limits of the Working Hours Act are observed.
What the model does not override
The maximum working time of eight hours a working day, exceptionally ten, applies unchanged. So does the balancing period of six calendar months or 24 weeks in section 3 ArbZG. An annual account must therefore not lead to somebody working twelve hours for half a year and then having half a year off.
This regularly gets confused: the balancing period of the Working Hours Act and the accounting period of the time account are two different things. The account may run over twelve months, the statutory averaging may not.
What it suits
Businesses with marked seasonality: horticulture, swimming pools, tourism, agriculture, tax practices with filing deadlines. There the work is spread unevenly across the year, and a weekly model forces an exception every week.
Example: annual target at 38 weekly hours
- 38 hours × 52.14 weeks = 1,981 hours gross.
- Deduction for 30 days of leave: 30 × 7.6 = 228 hours.
- Deduction for 11 public holidays on working days: 11 × 7.6 = 83.6 hours.
- Annual target: 1,981 − 228 − 83.6 = 1,669.4 hours.
Common mistake
The annual account gets confused with the balancing period of the Working Hours Act. The averaging under section 3 ArbZG still runs over six months or 24 weeks, regardless of how long the account is kept.
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026