Germany’s Work-Time Fight Intensifies as EU Penalty Looms Over Missed Deadline

Coalition dispute over working hours, missed EU pay transparency deadline, court rulings on time theft, and exploitation of seasonal farmworkers highlight Germany's labor crisis.

The Bundesregierung is facing a two-front labour crisis. On one side, a coalition row over working hours is heating up; on the other, Brussels is preparing to open an infringement procedure after Berlin let the EU pay-transparency directive deadline slip by on 7 June — without transposing the rules into national law.

DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi has slammed the government’s planned overhaul of the Arbeitszeitgesetz as an “ideologically driven wrong turn”. Her central concern: switching from a daily to a weekly maximum working time would effectively legalise shifts of up to 13 hours. That, she argues, benefits only those employers who already run illegal overtime. The Sozialverband Deutschland’s Michaela Engelmeier warned on 6 June that a 13-hour day “is not compatible with people’s real lives”. She called on Labour Minister Bärbel Bas to maintain current protection standards.

The opposition CDU, however, wants speed. MP Christoph Ploß demanded an immediate reform on 7 June that would introduce a weekly maximum — and extend it to non-unionised workplaces as well. Bas had promised a draft bill by June but has distanced herself from far-reaching flexibilisation.

Meanwhile, Germany has failed to meet the 7 June deadline for implementing the EU’s pay-transparency directive. The law would grant employees an individual right to request average gender-disaggregated salary data, and impose reporting obligations on companies with at least 100 staff. Its aim: to shrink Germany’s gender pay gap, which stood at 15.6 percent. Family Minister Karin Prien wants a low-bureaucracy implementation, possibly pushing the reporting start to June 2028. Eleven member states, including Austria, have yet to file a draft law.

Court rulings are also shaping the landscape. The Landesarbeitsgericht Hamm upheld the summary dismissal of a cleaner who visited a café during her recorded work hours. The court saw it as deliberate falsification of time records and a severe breach of trust (case no. 13 Sa 1007/22). In contrast, the Arbeitsgericht Bochum ruled on 9 March that three dismissals for suspected time theft were invalid: the works council had not been properly consulted about a smartwork arrangement, and the two-week deadline for a suspicion-based termination was missed.

A case from Westphalia could set a national precedent. A worker at a sheltered workshop for people with disabilities is suing for the statutory minimum wage. The Arbeitsgericht Münster is currently hearing the case; its ruling could have nationwide implications.

Labour disputes are also flaring. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, employees of a waste-disposal company have been on strike for eleven days, demanding higher pay. A joint demonstration took place in Waren on 8 June.

Most alarming is the plight of roughly 220,000 seasonal farmworkers. Despite a minimum wage of €13.90, many are reportedly working up to 16 hours a day. Since August 2025, they have also lost social insurance coverage for the first 90 days of employment. Customs inspections have decreased steadily in recent years, raising concerns about effective enforcement.