Germany's current Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz), which traces back to a law from 1918 according to a Wirtschaftswoche commentary, sets a maximum of eight working hours per day, extendable to ten hours only if the worker's average stays at eight hours over a set reference period. The coalition government of CDU/CSU and SPD, formed in 2025, agreed to examine replacing this daily ceiling with a weekly one, in line with the European Union's Working Time Directive, which caps work at 48 hours a week, according to Euronews' German edition.
What the draft bill would change
Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) presented a draft bill, or Referentenentwurf, that has circulated since June 2026, according to ad-hoc-news. The core change: instead of a strict daily cap, weekly working time would be allowed to average up to 48 hours over the year, letting employees work longer individual days as long as the weekly average holds, ZDF reported. In practice this could mean four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days, Euronews noted, citing the coalition agreement's own language about distributing the same weekly hours across fewer days.
Bas's draft limits this flexibility to companies bound by collective bargaining agreements, according to ad-hoc-news. The draft also includes a requirement for electronic time recording, ad-hoc-news reported.
Arguments for and against
Supporters argue flexibility is needed as Germany's workforce ages. Oliver Stettes of the Institute of German Economy told ZDF that the country "will lose work hours as retirees outnumber new workers," and that flexible scheduling helps use the remaining labor supply productively. Business groups such as the VDMA mechanical-engineering association want the weekly-cap option extended to all companies, not just unionized ones, according to ad-hoc-news.
Critics raise different concerns. Dr. Amélie Sutterer-Kipping of the union-affiliated Hans-Böckler-Stiftung told ZDF that weekly limits "won't solve care conflicts; they worsen them," warning of risks to women's workforce participation if long workdays make childcare harder to arrange. Nils Backhaus of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health told ZDF that daily shifts longer than ten hours are linked to negative health effects, and that adequate rest periods remain essential. The German service-sector union Ver.di has called the plan "absolutely counterproductive," saying it risks opening the door to abuse of workers in sectors with weaker bargaining power, Euronews reported.
A compromise that satisfies no one
Employer representatives have criticized Bas's draft from the opposite direction. BDA employer-association president Rainer Dulger called the restriction to collectively bargained firms a "Zumutung," or unreasonable imposition, according to ad-hoc-news, since it leaves out the many companies without a collective agreement or works council. CDU/CSU politicians have accused Bas of departing from the spirit of the coalition agreement, which did not limit the weekly-cap option so narrowly, ad-hoc-news reported.
According to the Wirtschaftswoche commentary, Bas herself has pushed for minimal change, preferring to restrict any new flexibility to unionized firms rather than apply it broadly. The outlet described this as resistance from within the SPD, whose labor-policy wing has traditionally defended the eight-hour day as a core achievement.
Where the four-day week fits in
The reform does not mandate shorter total working hours; it changes how the existing hours can be distributed. But because a weekly 48-hour cap would let employers concentrate hours into four longer days, the hospitality and retail sectors have cited it as a step toward four-day-week scheduling, Euronews reported, with retail representatives saying it could let staff better align shifts with personal commitments while giving employers more scheduling flexibility. As of the sources reviewed, the bill remained what ad-hoc-news described as an early-stage internal draft, with no date set for a vote in the Bundestag.
Questions
- Does the German reform actually shorten the work week?
- No. The draft changes how the existing weekly hours can be scheduled — allowing a weekly average of up to 48 hours instead of a strict daily 8-hour cap — rather than reducing total working time, according to ZDF and ad-hoc-news.
- Who does the proposed weekly working-time cap apply to?
- In Labor Minister Bärbel Bas's draft, the option to use a weekly rather than daily limit is restricted to companies bound by collective bargaining agreements, according to ad-hoc-news.
- What is the current legal daily limit in Germany?
- Under the existing Arbeitszeitgesetz, the standard maximum is eight hours per working day, extendable to ten hours if the average stays at eight hours over a reference period, per ZDF and Euronews.
- Why is the SPD divided over this reform?
- Part of the SPD, including Minister Bas, has pushed to keep the 8-hour-day principle largely intact and limit new flexibility to unionized firms, a stance a Wirtschaftswoche commentary described as resistance to the broader change envisioned in the coalition agreement.
- What do unions and employers say about the plan?
- Unions such as Ver.di call it potentially open to abuse of workers, while employer groups like the BDA and VDMA call the restriction to collectively bargained firms unreasonable and want it extended to all companies, according to Euronews and ad-hoc-news.
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