A maximum weekly working time is planned, but not adopted. According to the draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) dated June 18, 2026, the parties to a collective agreement will in future be able to agree a maximum weekly working time instead of a daily one. The prerequisite is a collective agreement or a works agreement based on it, together with additional occupational health measures. Without coverage by a collective agreement, § 3 of the Arbeitszeitgesetz continues to apply: eight hours on working days, exceptionally ten hours with time off in lieu. As of September 1, 2026, there is no Cabinet decision, and the parliamentary process has not yet begun. The date of entry into force is still open.
What Applies Today: Eight Hours on Working days, Ten as an Exception
The legal situation has not changed in 2026. The Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG) permits a working day of eight hours under § 3. Ten hours are possible if the average returns to eight hours within six calendar months or 24 weeks.
Above this sits the European framework. The EU Working Time Directive limits average weekly working time to 48 hours and requires at least eleven hours of rest time between two shifts. Any national reform must stay within these limits.
So the ten-hour day already applies today—just as an exception with a requirement to provide time off in lieu, not as the standard model.
What the Draft Bill of June 18, 2026 Entails
The draft combines two initiatives from the coalition agreement: the option of a maximum weekly working time instead of a daily one, and a statutory, more specific obligation for electronic working time tracking. Both are intended to come together.
| Criterion | Current law | Draft bill |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum daily working time | 8 hours, exceptionally 10 | unchanged without a collective agreement; longer days only with a collective agreement |
| Maximum weekly working time | 48 hours on average over 6 months | Weekly arrangement only with a collective-agreement provision |
| Reference period for overtime | 24 weeks | 16 weeks (4 months) |
| Rest time | at least 11 hours, collective-agreement opt-out possible | 11 hours, existing collective-agreement opt-out removed |
| Working time tracking | Obligation under the ECJ and the Federal Labour Court (BAG), format flexible | electronic, on the day the work is performed, as the standard |
| Fine range | up to €30,000 | up to €50,000 |
| Procedural status | in force | draft bill, no Cabinet decision |
In the draft, flexibility is tied to strict conditions. Longer individual days require a collective agreement or a works agreement or service agreement based on a collective agreement. In addition, the collective bargaining parties must agree occupational health measures that go beyond the statutory standard—for example, a limit on consecutive long working days, extended rest times after intensive phases, or a right of co-determination regarding the compensation of overtime.
For time tracking, the draft provides staggered transition periods. In the first year after entry into force, all employers may continue to record working time in non-electronic form; companies with fewer than 250 employees have two years, and companies with fewer than 50 employees have five years. Micro-enterprises with up to ten employees are intended to remain permanently exempt. These deadlines relate only to the form of recording. The obligation to record working time itself has existed since the BAG decision of September 13, 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), regardless of any reform.
Maximum Weekly Instead of Daily Working Time: What This Means in Practice
The difference lies in the reference period. Today, the law assesses each individual working day. With a weekly approach, the weekly total counts, and the distribution across days becomes more flexible. Anyone working eleven hours on three days can work fewer hours on the fourth day or take time off, as long as the weekly limit and rest time are observed.
In purely arithmetic terms, after eleven hours of rest time, a day of up to 13 hours remains. Such figures appear in the public debate. In the draft, they are tied to the collective-agreement conditions and to complete electronic recording.
For companies covered by a collective agreement with fluctuating demand, this opens up room for manoeuvre. Sites could stay open longer without every shift having to rely on the exception rule, and compressed weekly models—such as four long days plus one day off—would be plannable, which matters for recruitment. Absences can also be covered more easily within a week than against a rigid daily limit.
The draft tightens rules elsewhere. The reference period for overtime above 48 hours is reduced from 24 to 16 weeks, and the previous collective-agreement opt-out for rest time is removed because it is not covered by the EU Working Time Directive. Existing collective agreements and works agreements with such provisions would need to be adjusted.
Without coverage by a collective agreement, nothing changes under the current draft—neither the daily limit nor rest time. This affects a large share of employees in Germany.
Where the Reform Stands (as of September 1, 2026)
The draft bill is a working draft by the ministry, not a government bill. There is no Cabinet decision, and the Bundestag and Bundesrat have not yet dealt with it. On July 1 and 2, 2026, the coalition committee of the CDU/CSU and SPD adopted a package of 34 measures; the working time reform was not included.
Criticism comes from both sides. Employers’ associations consider the collective-agreement requirements too restrictive and mainly see new obligations; most recently, the employer side has called for the draft to be withdrawn. Trade unions and the Hans Böckler Foundation warn of health impacts from longer working days. At the end of August 2026, Labour Minister Bärbel Bas defended the principle of the eight-hour day and pointed to the strict conditions in the draft.
The content and timeline could therefore still change fundamentally. We update this article quarterly and immediately once a Cabinet decision is available.
What You Can Prepare Now
- Review your time tracking. Does your system record the start, end and duration of daily working time for all employees, on the same day and electronically? This is the requirement that is least disputed in the draft.
- Review collective agreements and works agreements. Do they include a rest-time opt-out or reference periods longer than four months? Both would no longer be permitted once the law enters into force.
- Clarify whether you are covered by a collective agreement. Only then would the weekly approach be an option for you at all.
- Think through your planning logic. Which sites or areas would benefit from longer days, and how will time off in lieu be handled within the week?
- Safeguard trust-based working time. This remains permissible, but you must be able to identify breaches of maximum working times and rest times—for example via system warnings or spot checks.
How Planerio Supports You
Planerio schedules shifts based on the rules that apply to your organisation. AI shift planning creates schedules and takes legal, collective-agreement and operational requirements into account. This frees up to 90% more time for what matters.
- If the legal framework changes, the new requirements apply already when schedules are created—not only at month-end close.
- Time tracking is in the same system as the schedule: actual times and timesheets where planning happens, with integrations to payroll.
- If someone is absent at short notice, Planerio suggests suitable replacement staff—also across departments and sites, or from the float pool.
- Employees’ shift preferences are incorporated into planning, and in the employee scheduling app everyone can see how the days are distributed.
Even planning AI does not override statutory limits. What organisations need to consider when using it is explained in our article on legally compliant shift planning with AI.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ten-hour day already applies today, but only as an exception: under § 3 ArbZG it is permitted if the average returns to eight hours within six calendar months or 24 weeks. There is no date from which longer days will become the standard. The draft bill of June 18, 2026 has not been adopted; as of September 1, 2026 there is no Cabinet decision, and the date of entry into force is still open.
Under the draft, the maximum daily working time of eight hours—exceptionally ten—remains in place for everyone who is not covered by a collective agreement. What would be new is the option to switch to a weekly limit via a collective agreement. The reference period for overtime above 48 hours would be shortened from 24 to 16 weeks, and the previous collective-agreement opt-out from the eleven-hour rest time would be removed. The 48-hour limit on average weekly working time remains in any case; it comes from the EU Working Time Directive.
Today, each working day is assessed individually against the statutory maximum. With a maximum weekly working time, the weekly total counts, and the distribution across individual days is more flexible. Long and short days can balance out within the same week. The eleven-hour rest time between two shifts and the 48-hour limit on average weekly working time continue to apply and limit how long a single day can become.
Record it, yes—electronically, not necessarily. The obligation to record total working time has existed since the BAG decision of September 13, 2022, based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The format has so far been flexible. Only the draft would make electronic recording on the day the work is performed the standard, with staggered transition periods by company size.
Prepare Schedules Now for Both Scenarios.
Book a free demo and see how Planerio maps working time rules in shift planning.
Sources
All sources accessed on September 1, 2026,
- BMAS, laws and legislative projects: Arbeitszeitgesetz: bmas.de/DE/Service/Gesetze-und-Gesetzesvorhaben/arbeitszeitgesetz.html
- BMAS, questions and answers on working time tracking: bmas.de/DE/Arbeit/Arbeitsrecht/Arbeitnehmerrechte/Regelungen-zur-Arbeitszeit/Fragen-und-Antworten/faq-arbeitszeiterfassung.html
- § 3 Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG): gesetze-im-internet.de/arbzg/__3.html
- Directive 2003/88/EC on certain aspects of the organisation of working time, EUR-Lex: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/de/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32003L0088
- Osborne Clarke, analysis of the BMAS draft bill of June 18, 2026: osborneclarke-arbeitsrecht.de
The draft bill has not yet been officially published. Information on the content of the draft is based on evaluations by specialist employment-law sources.
Legal Notice – Legal status: 15 October 2026
This article does not replace legal advice; the legal situation may have changed since then. For your individual case, contact your legal department or a law firm specializing in labor law.