Working hours and rest periods in the schedule

The Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, AZG) governs how long adults may work and which breaks and rest periods they are entitled to. The Rest Periods Act (Arbeitsruhegesetz, ARG) governs rest at weekends and on public holidays. For employees under 18 the KJBG applies instead, see Apprentices and young workers. Most schedules come down to six numbers: 8, 40, 12, 60, 30 minutes and 11 hours.

Normal working time: 8 and 40 hours

Normal working time is at most 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (§ 3 AZG). Many collective agreements set less: in retail, normal weekly working time is 38.5 hours.

If normal hours are regularly shortened on some days to give longer time off connected to the weekly rest, they may be spread over the other days; daily normal working time may then not exceed 9 hours (§ 4 (2) AZG). A works agreement, or a written agreement in businesses without a works council, may allow up to 10 hours if weekly working time is regularly spread over four days (§ 4 (8) AZG).

Shops have an averaging rule of their own: within a four-week period, normal working time may reach up to 44 hours in individual weeks if the average does not exceed 40 hours or the collectively agreed normal working time; the daily maximum stays at 9 hours (§ 4 (4) AZG). The retail collective agreement allows averaging over 26 weeks with up to 44 hours in individual weeks if the average does not exceed 38.5 hours.

Maximum limits: 12 and 60 hours

Including overtime, a working day may not exceed 12 hours and a working week 60 hours (§ 9 (1) AZG). Where more than 48 hours a week are allowed, the average over 17 weeks may not exceed 48 hours; the collective agreement may extend the period to 26 weeks, or to 52 weeks for technical or organisational reasons (§ 9 (4) AZG).

With increased demand, at most 20 hours of overtime a week are allowed (§ 7 AZG). Employees may refuse overtime without giving reasons if it would take them beyond 10 hours a day or 50 hours a week, and may not be disadvantaged for doing so. Overtime carries a 50 per cent supplement or time off in lieu (§ 10 AZG).

Part-timers who work beyond their agreed hours first work additional hours (Mehrarbeit). These carry a 25 per cent supplement unless they are balanced 1:1 with time off within the calendar quarter (or another fixed three-month period) in which they arose; further exceptions apply to flexitime and to collectively agreed normal hours below 40 (§ 19d (3a) to (3f) AZG).

In eutempus: The 12-hour daily limit is a hard rule. The optimiser plans weekly hours along the contracts; overtime above an adjustable threshold counts as a soft-rule violation. eutempus does not check the weekly limits of 60 hours and 48 hours on average separately.

Breaks: 30 minutes for more than 6 hours

If daily working time exceeds 6 hours, it must be interrupted by a break of at least half an hour (§ 11 (1) AZG). If this is in the employees’ interest or necessary for operational reasons, two breaks of 15 minutes or three of 10 minutes are possible instead; where there is a works council, it must agree. A works agreement may allow other splits, or the labour inspectorate in businesses without a works council; one part must last at least 10 minutes. Breaks do not count as working time.

In the schedule this means: a shift with 6 hours of working time, for example from 8 am to 2 pm, needs no break. For 7 hours of working time, a break of at least 30 minutes is added, so the shift runs from about 8 am to 3:30 pm.

Daily rest: 11 hours

After the end of the working day, employees are entitled to at least 11 consecutive hours of rest (§ 12 (1) AZG). A collective agreement may shorten this to as little as 8 hours; the shortfall must be made up within the next ten calendar days by a longer rest period, and shortening below 10 hours requires additional recovery measures in the collective agreement (§ 12 (2) AZG). The retail collective agreement allows reductions to 10 or 8 hours in individual cases.

A typical mistake in retail: a late shift until 9 pm followed by an early shift at 6:30 am the next day for a delivery. That leaves only 9.5 hours between the shifts.

In eutempus: eutempus checks the 11 hours of rest between shifts on consecutive days within the schedule and flags shortfalls as a soft-rule violation. The minimum rest period is adjustable.

Weekend rest and weekly rest

Every calendar week, employees are entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of 36 hours that includes Sunday. It starts at 1 pm on Saturday at the latest, or 3 pm for strictly necessary closing, cleaning and maintenance work (§ 3 ARG).

Anyone scheduled to work during the weekend rest period is instead entitled to weekly rest of 36 hours that includes a whole weekday (§ 4 ARG). Work during the weekly rest period entitles the employee to compensatory rest in the following working week (§ 6 ARG).

In shops, work on Saturdays after 1 pm is allowed as far as opening hours permit; closing and cleaning work for at most one more hour (§ 22f ARG). Whether the next Saturday must be free after a long Saturday is not set by the act but by the retail collective agreement, see Retail collective agreement. Young workers have a statutory rule of their own (§ 19a KJBG).

Employees in shops may work on 8 December if it falls on a working day, but may refuse without giving reasons (§ 13a ARG).

Records and fines

Employers must keep records of the hours worked (§ 26 AZG). Where working hours are fixed in writing, it is enough to confirm compliance at least at the end of each pay period and to record deviations as they happen. Employees may request their records free of charge once a month.

Anyone who fails to respect maximum hours, breaks or rest periods risks fines of 72 to 1,815 euros, 145 to 1,815 euros for a repeat offence. In a repeat case, 218 to 3,600 euros apply if the maximum hours were exceeded by more than 20 per cent or the rest period was shorter than 8 hours (§ 28 AZG). Breaches of the ARG cost 72 to 2,180 euros, 145 to 2,180 euros for a repeat offence (§ 27 ARG).

Checklist for every schedule

1. No day over 12 hours, no week over 60 hours, at most 48 on average over 17 weeks.
2. Normal working time and averaging as set by your collective agreement.
3. A 30-minute break for more than 6 hours.
4. At least 11 hours between two shifts, also across the weekend and the edge of the planning period.
5. 36 hours of weekend or weekly rest per calendar week.
6. Keep records and note deviations.

Sources

1. Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, AZG), RIS, current version (German)
2. § 9 AZG: maximum working time, RIS (German)
3. § 11 AZG: breaks, RIS (German)
4. § 12 AZG: rest periods, RIS (German)
5. Rest Periods Act (Arbeitsruhegesetz, ARG), RIS, current version (German)
6. Collective agreement for retail employees and apprentices, as of 1 January 2026 (GPA, German), working time