How long are work hours in Germany?
Maximum Working Hours & Overtime Laws in Germany
Working hours should not exceed 8 hours daily. They can be extended to 10 hours daily as long as the weekly hours are not more than 48.
Working Hours in Germany
Legal working days in Germany are from Monday to Saturday, but for most workers, a standard work week is from 8 or 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Employees are allowed to work up to 10 hours per day, as long as the total weekly work time is not longer than 48 hours.
When a German is at work, they are focused and diligent, which in turn leads to higher productivity in a shorter period of time. Germans work hard and play hard. Since the working day is focused on delivering efficient productivity, the off hours are truly off hours.
Germany is home to one of the shortest average working weeks in Europe. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the average working week is 34.2 hours. Yet, trade unions are calling for further reduced working hours.
Iceland. Between 2015 and 2019, Iceland led one of the largest 4-day workweek pilots to date, with close to 2,500 people participating. The trial was considered an “overwhelming success” among researchers, with employees reporting improved well-being, work-life balance and productivity.
The front runners for lowest average weekly work hours are the Netherlands with 27 hours, and France with 30 hours.
Work on Sundays and public holidays is largely prohibited, except for workers in the service industry.
Netherlands. According to government data, at only 29 hours per week, Netherlands has one of the shortest average work weeks in the world. The country ends up having 4-Day work week despite not having official rules for it.
Labour law prohibits taking the break at the end of the day's work in order to leave earlier. Breaks are not considered working time and are therefore not paid.
Germans enjoy a reputation for a strong work ethic. One thing that Germans hold in very high esteem is doing everything the right way. This idea applies both to actual work and the workspaces, which are kept organized and tidy.
What is the German work ethic?
German work ethics mean employees always turn up on time and do a full day's work, they are in turn rewarded with fair pay and good working conditions. Everyone in Germany wants every task, big or small, to be completed to its best, on time, and with high satisfaction for the end consumer.
Most Germans happy with work
Some 77 percent of people said that the environment at their workplace was "good", "very good" or "excellent". Meanwhile, 60 percent of the respondents put the same labels on their work-life balance.
- Australia. In Australia, the six-hour day and four-day week is supported by the Australian Greens.
- Finland. In 2020, the Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin advocated for a change towards implementing a six-hour working day. ...
- Norway. The Red Party (Norway) has advocated for a six-hour workday.
- Sweden.
Those with the longest working weeks were Greece (40.1 hours), Romania (39.8 hours), Poland (39.7 hours) and Bulgaria (39.5 hours). By contrast, the Netherlands had the shortest average working week (32.2 hours), followed by Austria (33.7 hours) and Germany (34.6 hours).
Lunch in Germany is called Mittagessen and is usually eaten between 12 pm and 2 pm. Germans traditionally enjoy their main cooked meal for lunch rather than dinner.
Some 71 percent of Americans say they support the concept of a four-day workweek, a poll for Newsweek shows, while 83 percent think they could complete their weekly workload in four days. American work culture remains focused on 'busyness,' which could represent an obstacle to the introduction of the shorter workweek.
United Arab Emirates
On January 01, 2022, the UAE began a short work week that is 4.5 days (36 hours) long, with flexible hours and work-from-home options on Fridays.
Standard hours
The French working hours are usually 8 or 9 AM to 4 or 5 PM, with 1 hour of unpaid lunch break. This will, however, vary depending on the business and company agreements. The weekly working hours are 35 (7 hours a day, five days a week).
Mexico is the most overworked nation globally, with an average yearly workday of 2,148 hours. A full-time employee in Mexico clocks in at roughly 48.5 hours per week. Moreover, a quarter of Mexican workers clock in more than 50 hours a week. Only $16,298 per year is earned by the typical American worker.
Mexico has the world's hardest workers, clocking in at 2,127.8 hours per year on average. That means that the average Mexican worker works for 40.9 hours a week, about 5.7% more than the average worker in the United States.
Which country has the happiest working hours?
Canada is famed for its excellent access to healthcare, good nationwide wealth, public safety and racial acceptance. Not only that, but the happiest community in the world resides in Neebing, Ontario. Canadian workers spend an average of 36.6 hours a week at work and productivity is high.
The commonly agreed upon quiet hours in Germany (Ruhezeit time period) are from 10pm and 6 or 7am on weekdays and the entire day on Sundays, although there can be some exceptions in different cities or if your landlord imposes other rules as well. Ruhezeit also applies to all public holidays for the entire day.
According to the Federal Holidays Act, all employees in Germany with a 5-day week are entitled to a minimum of 20 vacation days per year. Most collective agreements, however, include entitlements to larger numbers of days.
What Is The Average Wage In Germany? According to Statista, in 2021, the average gross annual salary in Germany was 47.700 euros a year, or 3.975 euros a month. The numbers above are for all of Germany.
American workers spend more time on the clock than employees in other developed countries, and it adds up: U.S. workers typically put in 400 more hours on the job every year compared to our counterparts in Germany. A new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), which is a U.N.
| Employees | Employed People | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Work Week Hours |
| 1 | Mauritania | 54 |
| 2 | Egypt | 51 |
| 3 | Gambia | 51 |
...
On average, German employees take 11 sick days per year. You can take as many sick days as you need, even during your probation period. Your employer can't punish you because you take sick days. If you take more than 30 sick days per year, you could get fired.
Typical office hours are 9-5 Monday-Thursday and 9-4 Monday-Friday. According to the German labor law, working hours cannot exceed eight hours in one day or 48 hours in one week.
A full-time job in Germany usually comprises between 35 and 40 hours each week. You may not work more than 48 hours each week ac- cording to the German Working Hours Act. This may be in- creased to 60 hours each week if the average working hours of 8 hours each workday are not exceeded within a period of six months.
What is the biggest German stereotype?
- Germans are hard-working. Germans don't work that much at all. ...
- The weather is bad in Germany. Germans like to complain about the weather. ...
- The Germans know everything better.
- Fireman – 94 percent.
- Nurse – 89 percent.
- Doctor – 88 percent.
- Carer – 87 percent.
- Police officer – 85 percent.
- Childcare worker – 81 percent.
- Teacher – 69 percent.
- Forest ranger – 62 percent.
But Germans don't fall neatly into the stereotype of rigid or robotic workaholics. Instead, Germans take more days off than anywhere else in Europe, when one counts annual leave and official holidays. German workplace language helps us understand this curious balance of work and play.
Generally speaking, Germans are considered to be well-organized people who love rules and prohibitions and are punctual, hard-working, disciplined, reliable, but also comparatively humorless. In fact, many Germans strive to do everything thoroughly, well and precisely.
Large numbers of German workers are unhappy with the amount of time they spend on the job. And it's not just because they feel overworked. Millions of Germans wanted to work more in 2018, according to results of a "micro-census" researched by Germany's statistics office and published on Thursday.
The most stressed German workers, according to the figures, work in the financial, automotive and manufacturing industry, health care and education.
Typically, the Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (Youth Labor Protection Laws) apply to teenagers between 15-18, and children younger than 14 are not allowed to work and are required to attend school five days per week.
18.4 For non-exempt classifications, the full-time workweek is a workweek of forty (40) hours within seven (7) consecutive twenty-four (24) hour days. In accordance with the provisions of Article 19, employees may be required to work overtime hours as directed by the Appropriate Administrator.
The five-day, 40-hour workweek became part of American labor law partly due to Henry Ford. In 1926, the founder of the Ford Motor Company took his six-day-a-week operation down to five days per week, with no changes in employee compensation.
During the Depression, President Herbert Hoover called for a reduction in work hours in lieu of layoffs. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established a five-day, 40-hour workweek for many workers.
Who is the hardest working country in Europe?
When countries outside of the EU are considered, Turkey, which straddles south-east Europe and western Asia, has the longest working week, clocking up a staggering 49.4 hours per week on average. Full-time employees in Iceland meanwhile, work 44.4 hours per week on average.
The average American adult works 38.7 hours per week.
That works out to 7.74 hours per weekday and 2012.4 hours per year. They say if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. For everyone else, it's estimated that you'll work 90,000 hours throughout your lifetime.
In April 2023, the average working week for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in the United States was at 34.4 hours. This includes part-time workers. The data have been seasonally adjusted.
Sauerbraten
Sauerbraten is regarded as one Germany's national dishes and there are several regional variations in Franconia, Thuringia, Rhineland, Saarland, Silesia and Swabia. This pot roast takes quite a while to prepare, but the results, often served as Sunday family dinner, are truly worth the work.
Because saying “Guten Appetit” before a meal in German is mandatory. You can also say “zum Wohl” (good health) or “Mahlzeit” (mealtime), particularly at lunch. Another mandatory German saying is the “Prost!” when you clink glasses.
Answer: Breakfast in Germany is usually with bread rolls or slices of whole wheat or rye bread with any kind of jam or marmalade, nougat cream or with salami, ham or cheese slices. This food is accompanied mostly with a cup of coffee and orange juice.
The average working hours in Germany is 8 hours per day. This can be extended to up to 10 hours per day for a short period. A rest period of 11 hours is normally prescribed between 2 shifts.
Legal limits to working hours in Germany
The working week runs from Monday to Saturday, and employees must not work more than 48 hours per week.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ladenschlussgesetz or "Shop Closing Law" (abbreviated: LadSchlG) is the federal "blue law" compelling retail stores to close to the public on Sundays and Christian holidays.
Lunch (das Mittagessen)
In Germany, lunch is THE MEAL of the day. This may be the day's only hot meal, and it is usually served punctually between noon and 2:00. Workers and schoolchildren would traditionally return home so the family could eat together.
How many days off are mandatory in Germany?
Employees are entitled to a minimum of 24 days off for a 6-day work week and 20 days for a 5-day one. In reality, most employees receive 25-30 days of leave, even on a 5-day workweek. Employers may provide additional leave to employees who perform intense or dangerous work.
6 Days Work Week
Countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea have a high number of average work hours per year.
Overtime pay is not covered by Germany's labor laws, which prevents employees from receiving it. Overtime must be compensated with the usual salary if there are no additional employment contract provisions.
Salaries are paid monthly.
The commonly agreed upon quiet hours in Germany (Ruhezeit time period) are from 10pm and 6 or 7am on weekdays and the entire day on Sundays, although there can be some exceptions in different cities or if your landlord imposes other rules as well. Ruhezeit also applies to all public holidays for the entire day.
In Switzerland you are not allowed to wash your car on Sundays. Germany had the same law but modified it to allow car washing on Sundays after midday (so your church going time is not disturbed). Although you are not able to do this car washing with water and detergent on the street, even if it is your own property.
Nevertheless, this “day of rest” was always a time cherished by every member of the family—and the traditional Sunday meal was a big reason why. (See my traditional Sunday menu recipes below.) Preparations for the gathering started on Saturday, and everyone had responsibilities, including the children.