Contents
Why 48 and not 40
The Working Hours Act counts in working days. Working days are all calendar days except Sundays and public holidays, so Monday to Saturday. Eight hours on six working days gives 48 hours a week.
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 therefore still leaves room up to the statutory limit, but obliges nobody to use it: extra work has to be agreed or ordered.
The exception up to ten hours
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 temporary work in emergencies and extraordinary cases, and for research and work that cannot be postponed.
The balancing period is no blank cheque: anyone working ten hours for months has to plan the balance. Arithmetically, after twelve weeks at 55 hours each, only 41 hours a week remain for the remaining twelve weeks.
What counts as working time
Under section 2(1) ArbZG, working time is the time from the start to the end of work excluding rest breaks. Changing time counts where changing at the workplace serves the employer, for instance with conspicuous work clothing or prescribed protective equipment.
Stand-by duty is working time in full, on-call duty in principle is not. Journeys between two places of work during the working day are working time, the journey from home to the first workplace is not.
Where somebody works for several employers, the times are added together (section 2(1) sentence 1, second half-sentence, ArbZG). A full-time job plus a mini-job in the evening can breach the limit.
Deviations by collective agreement
Under section 7 ArbZG, a collective agreement, or a works agreement based on one, can set deviating rules: longer balancing periods, longer daily working time where stand-by duty regularly arises, different distributions.
Without collective bargaining coverage that is not possible. A works agreement alone is not enough, and an individual arrangement certainly not. What the law lays down is not at the parties' disposal.
What breaches cost
Breaches of section 3 ArbZG are regulatory offences under section 22 ArbZG with a range of fines up to 30,000 euros. Anyone repeating them persistently or thereby endangering health or capacity to work commits a criminal offence under section 23 ArbZG.
The employer is responsible, and where responsibility is delegated so is the manager who ordered the shift. Supervision lies with the occupational safety authorities of the federal states.
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