German Plan to Scrap Daily Work Hour Cap Sparks Fears of 13-Hour Shifts
11.06.2026 - 00:33:34 | boerse-global.de
Tensions ran high at the Chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday as government officials, employers, and unions clashed over a controversial proposal to replace Germany’s daily working time limit with a weekly ceiling. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas aims to present a bill in June that would abolish the current maximum of eight hours per day in favor of a 48-hour weekly cap.
Critics warn the change could open the door to exploitation. Legal expert Pascal Croset pointed out that workers could theoretically be required to put in shifts of up to 13 hours under the new framework. While employers cannot unilaterally order such long days, Croset noted that productivity drops sharply after the tenth hour.
The Hugo-Sinzheimer Institute went further, calculating that by exploiting all available exceptions, employees could be forced to work as many as 73.5 hours per week. Opponents describe the plan as a historic break with worker protection rules that have been in place for decades.
Unions and medical associations are pushing back hard. Christian Twardy, head of the Marburger Bund doctors’ union, said his organization sees no benefit from the reform. He warned that exceptional arrangements could become the standard, particularly at university hospitals where electronic time recording is already frequently ignored. The Hans-Böckler-Stiftung cited studies showing accident risk rises significantly after the eighth hour of work. A survey by the Institute for Economic and Social Sciences (WSI) found that roughly 75 percent of employees expect a negative impact on their work-life balance.
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Bas countered that Germany already logs 1.2 billion overtime hours annually. “That argument contradicts the claim that people are fundamentally not working enough,” she said, adding that any flexibility must not come at the expense of women or workers without collective bargaining agreements.
The meeting brought together top employer associations—BDA, BDI, DIHK, and ZDH—alongside union heavyweights DGB, IG Metall, IG BCE, and Verdi. Hospitality industry representative Jana Schimke of Dehoga called for a clear signal in favor of the weekly model before the summer recess. But the mood was tense. Reports emerged of suspected sabotage by unions in preliminary talks, with IG BCE chief Michael Vassiliadis describing a dialogue that has stagnated for the past year and a half.
Union leaders have dug in. The DGB announced a large demonstration planned for late June to protest the government’s current direction. Politicians from the Union and SPD parties stressed that Wednesday’s gathering was primarily meant to foster dialogue on pensions, taxes, and reducing bureaucracy, with no immediate decisions expected.
