German gov't to outline new working hours law in June

The German government has announced that a draft of its working hours reform will be ready by June. Here’s what we know about the law so far:

German working hours draft law will be ready next month

Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) has announced that a draft of the government’s new law on working hours will be ready by June. “You can expect us to introduce a bill in June, as there is a clear mandate in the coalition agreement,” Bas told the Bundestag floor, according to DIE ZEIT.

The CDU/CSU-SPD government’s coalition agreement outlined that it would adjust national law “according to the European working hours directive, [and] introduce maximum weekly working hours instead of maximum daily working hours”.

Put simply, the eight-hour working day would no longer be the standard in Germany. The European directive states that employees may work up to 48 hours in a seven-day period and up to 10 hours per day, rather than up to eight hours. When it comes to time off, employees must have at least 11 hours off between each 10-hour shift.

Currently, employees in Germany are limited to working a maximum of eight hours per day. This can be extended to 10 hours per day in exceptional circumstances, provided that, within six months (or 24 weeks), the overall average working time does not exceed eight hours per day.

“The coalition wants to make working hours more flexible, especially for families,” Bas said. However, women in particular should be protected from working longer hours, she added, so that they do not end up leaving the workforce because it is impossible to balance with domestic labour.

DGB categorically rejects reform

While the CDU/CSU has suggested that employees in Germany have a “lifestyle-part-time” approach to work, trade unions say employees are already working enough unpaid overtime. They categorically reject the proposal.

“This is a false debate: flexible working hours are already permitted under the law,” the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) says in its statement on the reform. “The Working Hours Act already provides all the necessary flexibility [...] further relaxation [...] would jeopardise worker protections without creating any real added value”. 

According to the DGB, the majority of employees want a lighter workload, not longer working hours. This sentiment is particularly strong among parents: “97 percent of parents who frequently have to work past 7pm would like to finish their workday before 7pm” and say they need “predictability” to make domestic labour easier, “not 13-hour shifts with breaks”.

What happens next?

After the draft law is drawn up, it will follow the standard lawmaking process in Germany. The draft will be submitted to the Bundesrat, which represents the 16 federal states, for comment.

The government responds to any comments. The draft law will then face three “readings” in parliament, during which it is further discussed, subject to scrutiny from committees and often amended. In the third reading, members of the Bundestag vote on whether to pass the law.

Once the draft law is announced in June, IamExpat will take a closer look at what it includes and how it might impact employees in Germany. Watch this space!