Long Hours, Hidden Costs: Germany’s Push for a 48-Hour Week Stirs Heated Debate Over Worker Safety
13.06.2026 - 00:44:05 | boerse-global.de
The risks of long working days are well documented, yet Germany’s government is considering a fundamental shift in labor law that would make 13-hour shifts legally possible. Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) announced on 10 June that a draft bill will be presented later this month. The centerpiece: replace the current daily cap on working hours with a weekly maximum of 48 hours.
Under the proposal, employees could work up to 13 hours in a single day — provided they respect the mandatory 11-hour rest period between shifts. The reform aims to give companies more flexibility, particularly in sectors like hospitality and artisan bakeries. But occupational safety experts and unions are sounding the alarm.
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The data on overwork
Coinciding with the reform plans, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) released a dossier detailing the health consequences of extended hours. The institute’s figures show that full-time employees in Germany already average 43.5 hours per week, despite contractual agreements for just 38.5 hours.
The gap is most pronounced among men: nearly one in four works 48 hours or more every week. For women, the share is 10 percent. BAuA experts warn that accident risk rises exponentially after the ninth hour of work. Beyond 50 weekly hours, the probability of burnout climbs sharply. About 20 percent of employees experience a shortened rest period of fewer than 11 hours at least once a month, leading to sleep disorders and emotional exhaustion.
Unions push back
The Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI), part of the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung trade union foundation, voiced serious concerns. Researcher Dr. Elke Ahlers called the planned abolition of the daily limit counterproductive. According to the institute’s “Index Gute Arbeit 2025”, 43 percent of employees already work more than eight hours a day on a regular basis, and half of that group report feeling burned out.
A key driver of those long hours is understaffing. More than 50 percent of respondents in a 2024 WSI survey cited personnel shortages as the main reason for overtime.
The dbb civil service and trade union federation also warned against dismantling protective rights. Deputy chairman Andreas Hemsing argued: “In Germany, people are not working too little.” Overtime is already being used to compensate for staff gaps in the public sector, he said. A pure weekly-hours rule, he added, would lead to constant stress and increase the risk of accidents.
Political fault lines
During a parliamentary debate on 11 June, opposition MPs sharply criticised the reform. The government defended the flexibilisation as necessary to strengthen the economy, particularly for industries with highly variable workloads.
Critics, however, see the proposal as a threat to the welfare state. Minister Bas cautioned that flexibility must not come at the expense of women or workers without collective agreements. She called for a strong role for works councils to prevent an increase in overtime.
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The coalition aims to reach fundamental decisions before the summer recess in mid-July. Any new law must also comply with rulings from the European Court of Justice (May 2019) and the Federal Labour Court (September 2022), which oblige employers to systematically record all working hours. Yet recent investigations by the Marburger Bund doctors’ union show that these requirements are still being ignored at some university hospitals.
Whether the planned reform can strike the balance between economic flexibility and employee protection remains an open question — and the evidence base remains fiercely contested.
