Germany’s Coalition Sets June 30 Deadline for Sweeping Work-Hour Reform as Unions Cry Foul

The German government is pushing for a fundamental rewrite of the country’s working-hours law, with a self-imposed deadline of June 30, 2026 to finalize a package that also touches on pensions and taxes. At the heart of the proposal is a switch from the rigid eight-hour daily cap to a weekly limit of 48 hours.

Under the new model, shifts of up to 12 hours would be allowed in individual cases, provided the average stays at eight hours per day over a three-month balancing period. The existing statutory rest period of 11 hours between shifts will remain unchanged.

Chancellor Merz expressed confidence that the coalition can agree on the key points before the summer break. The decisive meeting of the coalition committee is scheduled for June 30, with a comprehensive reform package due by early July. Alongside working hours, it will include incentives for longer careers and tax relief for low- and middle-income earners starting January 2027.

Union leaders are pushing back hard. DGB chair Yasmin Fahimi called the plan “an economically and socially misguided path” and accused the government of trying to legalize illegal overtime. Fahimi pointed out that flexible arrangements already exist in thousands of collective agreements, making a statutory weakening of the eight-hour day unnecessary. She warned that the reform could effectively permit 13-hour shifts.

IGBCE head Michael Vassiliadis also dismissed the debate as superfluous, arguing that collective bargaining partners have long found individual solutions. Labour Minister Bärbel Bas has linked any possible flexibility to strict conditions: mandatory electronic time tracking, collective bargaining coverage, and stronger co-determination rights for works councils.

Electronic time recording will become mandatory across the board, cementing the Federal Labour Court’s ruling of September 13, 2022. Companies must document all working hours without gaps. Violations of the documentation duty or exceeding the maximum hours could result in fines of up to €30,000 per infraction. Small businesses will be given longer transition periods to adapt.

The government faces additional pressure from Brussels. As of today, Germany is in breach of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, whose implementation deadline expired yesterday without a final law. This could trigger additional bureaucratic requirements for documentation of both working time and pay.

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