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Germany is regulating overtime to find a middle ground between employee well-being and workplace efficiency. There are no national rules for overtime pay, but the conditions of reimbursement are set by the individual labor agreements, collective arrangements, or works council policies. Recording of all the overtime hours along with the rest period is a requirement of the German Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) for the employers. Usually, employees are required to work a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, but the law allows some flexibility that the average working time may exceed the legal limit for half a year. It is important to know these rules to make sure that the payment is not only fair but also in alignment with the standards set by both parties—employers and employees. Learn more about employee rights and fair work policies on our Labour Rights page.
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Standard Working Hours and Legal Limits
The normal working week in Germany is 40 hours, divided across five days. By law, an employee is only supposed to work a maximum of 8 hours per day, but this extends to 10 hours if the six-month average does not exceed 8 hours per day. Employers must ensure that the weekly average does not exceed 48 hours for a six month period.
In addition, the German Working Time Act stipulates that all hours of overtime work, including on Sundays and public holidays, must be properly recorded. Employees are also entitled to 11 consecutive hours of rest within every 24 hours and at least one whole day off in every working week, to give them sufficient time to recover.
Overtime Compensation Rules
There is no statutory overtime pay rate in Germany. Instead, overtime compensation is based on the terms contained in employment or collective bargaining agreements.
- Commonly, employers make their choice between:
- Additional compensation for extra time worked, or
- Compensatory time instead of pay.
Although not mandated by law, premium overtime rates are commonly used in practice – usually 125% for the first two hours and 150% thereafter. Work done on Sundays or public holidays can be paid at a higher rate, depending on agreements in the various sectors. Importantly, lump-sum payments, which do not correspond to actual hours worked, are not allowed under the German labor law.
