Overview
- The federal coalition plans to rewrite the Arbeitszeitgesetz to use a weekly maximum instead of the long‑standing daily eight‑hour cap, and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas has said she will present a draft law in June as required by the coalition agreement.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz and employer groups press for flexible distribution of a 40‑hour week so firms can concentrate hours into fewer days, while business‑aligned economists and the IW propose a stepwise opening that would apply first to low‑risk office jobs.
- Unions and left parties have mobilized public warnings that longer single shifts will harm workers’ health and weaken protections, and they say the change could disproportionately hurt non‑tariff and precarious workers.
- Legal experts and coverage note the EU working‑time directive can be read to allow much longer single shifts if minimum rest rules are met, which opponents say could permit stretches of up to 13 hours including breaks.
- Political fallout is likely to shape the process: the government has signalled a social‑partner summit in early June, Bas is considering safeguards such as electronic time records, and union polling shows a majority of employees favour shorter hours, raising electoral risk for the SPD.