Will Germany scrap the eight-hour working day?

Germany’s long‑standing rule that limits most employees to an eight‑hour working day could soon be repealed.

The federal coalition government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), is preparing legislation that would scrap the daily cap on working hours and instead enforce a weekly maximum. The change could theoretically come into force later this year.

Labour Minister Bärbel Bas of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has confirmed that a draft bill amending the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) will be presented in June, in line with the CDU/CSU–SPD coalition agreement.

The plan is controversial, with unions warning it could lead to exhausting working days. The government insists the move is about flexibility and not longer hours overall.

Here’s the plan so far.

What's the new rule?

If the reform passes, employers would no longer be bound by a strict daily working limit. Instead of counting hours per day, the law would focus on how many hours are worked per week.

Under EU law, employees must still receive at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest per day and one full day off per week.

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Labour law experts from the Hugo Sinzheimer Institute calculated what this could mean in practice. In an extreme case, under the new rules, a person could work up to 12 hours and 15 minutes in a single day. If that happened over six days, the total would reach 73.5 hours in one week.

The government stresses this would only be possible in exceptional cases and that the existing EU‑mandated average limit of 48 hours per week would still apply over a longer period, not yet specified in the draft.

In theory, that means that very long weeks would have to be balanced by significantly shorter ones later on.

What's the current law, and why change it?

At present, rules around working hours in Germany are relatively straightforward. Employees can be scheduled to work up to eight hours per day, or ten in exceptional cases – provided the six‑month or 24‑week average remains at eight hours.

There is also a hard weekly maximum of 48 hours.

The current push by to shift from a daily to a weekly maximum working time is the latest chapter in a century-long tug-of-war between labour protection and economic flexibility.

Widely seen as one of the most fundamental workers' rights in Germany, the eight-hour day was born from the 1918 Stinnes-Legien Agreement and designed to prevent social revolution by guaranteeing workers rest and dignity.

But the current reform effort frames the eight-hour limit not as a hard-won right, but as an obstacle to modern life.

Supporters of the proposed reform, especially within the conservative Union parties (CDU/CSU) and the Economics Ministry, argue it has become outdated, saying it reflects an industrial‑era factory model rather than a modern, digital, service‑sector economy.

Their argument is that companies would be better able to respond to busy periods under a weekly system, instead of being held back by rigid daily caps.

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Another factor is a change in European law. A 2019 ruling by the European Court of Justice requires all employers to systematically record working hours.

While Germany already regulated how long people could work, it did not previously require the tracking of daily hours. The government sees the reform of working‑time limits as an opportunity to implement this ruling as part of a broader package.

Flexible hours, digitally recorded

Labour minister Bärbel Bas argues that the reform would benefit workers as well as employers – especially parents who want to better balance work and family life.

Bas has repeatedly rejected claims that the aim is to increase overall working time, saying the goal is flexibility, not longer hours.

Politically, however, this was a trade‑off. The CDU/CSU pushed hard for weekly limits instead of daily ones during coalition negotiations. In return for accepting this change, the SPD demanded mandatory electronic time tracking for all employees.

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Electronic time tracking means using digital systems to record when work starts and ends each day. Labour unions and the SPD argue this is a crucial protection, particularly in sectors with weak worker representation – such as parcel delivery – where unpaid overtime is common.

The idea is to create a clear paper trail if workers are being overworked.

Will the draft bill become law?

Nothing has been decided yet. After the draft bill is presented in June, it will face consultations and a full parliamentary process, during which details could still change.

But unions are already mobilising to counter the change. Verdi has warned that the reform could normalise 12‑ or even 13‑hour working days.

German Trade Union Federation (DGB) president Yasmin Fahimi has publicly advised against the plan and announced protest rallies, arguing that many employees would lack the power to refuse extreme demands in practice.

Other unions, such as the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG), say the change would be particularly dangerous in sectors like hospitality, food production and baking, where staff shortages and shift work are already common.

Whether union pressure can stop or reshape the reform could well be one of the defining labour battles of the year.