Overtime and the Working Hours Act

In short: The Working Hours Act limits daily and weekly maximum working time in Germany to protect employees’ health. Overtime is allowed, but not unlimited.

In more detail: Working time on workdays generally may not exceed eight hours but can be extended to up to ten hours if an average of eight hours is maintained.

In detail

• Maximum working time: Up to ten hours per working day, averaging eight hours over six months.
• Rest period: At least eleven uninterrupted hours of rest between two working days.
• Break rules: At least 30 minutes from six hours of work, 45 minutes from nine hours.
• Overtime pay: Not automatically required by law, depends on the employment or collective agreement.
• Overtime compensation: Often settled through time off instead of payment.
• Documentation duty: Employers generally must record actual working time.
• Exceptions: Senior employees and certain industries are partly subject to different rules (remote-work-und-homeoffice-regeln).