Germany's New Crisis Law Turns Reserve Exercises into Mandatory Duty for Millions
02.07.2026 - 22:11:23 | boerse-global.de
A small county in central Hesse may have just drawn a blueprint for how German employers should brace for national emergencies. In early July, the Waldeck-Frankenberg district and its municipalities signed a public-law agreement to share IT resources during cyberattacks or data-center failures. The plan pools laptops, VPN access, office space, and specialist staff, with regular drills to keep the administration combat-ready. Labour-law experts say similar cooperative models could soon find their way into private-sector crisis agreements — and for good reason.
Berlin is moving fast to overhaul Germany's crisis preparedness. On July 1, the federal cabinet passed the Reservestärkungsgesetz (Reserve Strengthening Act) along with a set of more than a dozen laws covering everything from food supply to transport security. For companies, the biggest change is that reserve exercises are no longer optional for the people who perform them — or for their employers.
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Under the old rules, reservists could only be called up for drills if both they and their employer agreed. That double voluntariness has been scrapped. From now on, anyone up to age 45 who has completed at least six months of military service can be compelled to train, even outside a declared crisis. Former career and temporary soldiers can be ordered back until they turn 65. The government wants to build an operational reserve of 200,000 people by 2035, while keeping 260,000 troops on active duty.
Business groups have broadly welcomed the goal but are demanding predictability. BDA president Rainer Dulger stressed that companies need transparent procedures and early notice. The law grants them that: employers will be informed eight weeks before a reservist's duty begins. Affected workers receive protection against dismissal and compensation for lost wages. Small and medium-sized enterprises get a flat-rate payment of €500 if the service lasts at least 30 days.
Even without reserve call-ups, many firms already face questions about overtime. Ingo Kleinhenz of the Bremen Employee Chamber points out that bosses cannot simply order extra hours. A valid basis in an employment contract, collective agreement, or works council agreement is required. Without such a foundation, overtime is only legal in unforeseeable operational emergencies — a sudden mass staff shortage, for example — and the works council must be involved. The Arbeitszeitgesetz sets hard limits: no more than ten hours per day, with an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours. Workers can refuse any violation.
Parallel to the reserve law, the cabinet approved a sweeping modernisation of Germany's Sicherstellungs- und Vorsorgegesetze — the laws that guarantee basic supplies in crises. Coordinated by the Interior Ministry, the overhaul is due to be completed by 2027. It aims to keep food, healthcare, water, transport, and internal security running even under wartime conditions.
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A key driver is the changed security landscape and Germany's growing role as NATO's logistical hub. The reform foresees moving certain government intervention powers earlier in time, so that authorities can act before an actual defence case is declared. This will affect civil-military cooperation and the prioritisation of critical infrastructure.
For employers and works councils, the message is clear: internal crisis concepts are no longer a nice-to-have. As Waldeck-Frankenberg shows, practical cooperation — pooled hardware, shared expertise, regular drills — can serve as a template. And with the state now able to pull millions of trained reservists into mandatory exercises, workforce planning will need a whole new layer of resilience.
