What are the working hours in Germany?

Working hours in Germany are just short on the European average. Get a real feel for how many working hours in Germany you can expect to be working.

Marle

4 minute read

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Updated on 13 Aug 2024

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Working

With an average of 34.9 working hours per week, Germany has a shorter working week compared to the European average. Despite a relatively short working week, the country maintains high labour productivity. In a nutshell, Germans have found the balance between work and life.

To give you a better understanding of what we're talking about, we've created an overview of the average working week in Germany. You'll soon get a feel of the amount of hours you'll be working depending on your industry and what to do with your overtime.

Like just about everything else in Germany, working hours in Germany are protected by legislation: the Working Hours Act ("Arbeitszeitgesetz"). This legislation ensures fair working conditions for employees.

According to the Working Hours Act, a work week can't exceed 48 hours or 8 hours daily over an average period of 6 months.

Something that's illegal is working on Sundays or national holidays. This means that an average working week runs from Monday to Saturday (in office jobs rather Friday). It won't take you long to realise that Sundays are absolute rest days in Germany - and that you won't even be able to do your groceries. Time for you to lean back and find your cosy Sunday routine!

An average working week in Germany as a full-time employee is between 36 and 40 hours, with working days in Germany being 7 to 8 hours. Most people start between 8-9 AM and finish by 5-6 PM, enjoying a 30 minute lunch break in between.

A full-time employee in Germany has an average working week of 40.2 hours.

So if you were to work full-time, you could be earnign an average salary of €4,187 - €4,323.

As soon as your average working week in Germany falls below 30 hours, you're considered a part-time employee.

A part-time worker in Germany works an average of 21.7 hours.

Good to know: Are you employed by a company for more than 6 months? Then you have the right to request a reduction in your average working week from your employer.

University students in Germany can also work during their studies but the requirements are different. Students coming from EU/EEA countries can work up to 20 hours per week. Whereas students coming from non-EU/EEA countries can work to up to 140 full days/280 half days per year.

If your average working day in Germany is between 6 and 9 hours, you have to take a 30-minute break or 2 15-minute breaks.

Are you working more than 9 hours? Then you're entitled to a 45-minute break after 6 hours of work and must have at least 11 hours between your shifts.

In Germany, working hours are capped at 48 hours a week. This is based on the idea of working 8 hours a day over a 6-day work week.

Working slightly overtime is legally allowed. The Working Hours Act state that you can work up to 10 hours a day, as long as you don't work more than 48 hours a week.

On top of this, you cannot be working 10 hours a day for more than 60 days in a year and you should maintain an average of 8 hour per day over a 6-month period.

In terms of overtime compensation, your German work contract should state what happens if you work overtime. In general, your overtime is either compensated with time off or with monetary compensation. If it's time off, you can enjoy a day off on another agreed upon date. If it's compensation, it is typically your hourly wage.

The average working hours in Germany differ greatly from industry to industry, so employees can expect to work different hours.

The workload is by far most striking in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, with an average of 39.9 hours per week.

Here's an overview of the working hours in Germany for some of the industries:

With its average working week of 34.9 hours, the working hours in Germany are quite comparable to the European average of 36.5 hours per week.

Turkish employees have the longest average working week with 45 hours, followed by Serbia (42.6), Bosnia and Herzegovina (41.9) and Greece (40.9).

The countries with the shortest average working week are the Netherlands (31.6), Denmark (33.9) and Norway (34.5). Germany ranks 4th with an average work week of 34.9 hours.

There you have it, an overview of the working hours in Germany for full-time, part-time, and student workers. Are you still searching for a job? Discover how to find a job in Germany.