The Working Time Act does not set a direct limit on the maximum number of working days, but strict rules apply regarding rest on Sundays and public holidays and the granting of alternative rest days. But what about the exceptions? You will find out in this article what the European Court of Justice says on this subject and how many consecutive working days can actually be worked in Germany.
The most important in brief
Mathematically, up to 32 consecutive business days are allowed. A ruling by the European Court of Justice limits this to 12 working days, but this does not necessarily apply to German labor law.
No immediate limit on the maximum number of business days allowed
In principle, the working time law contains: no direct definition of the maximum permitted number of continuous working days. Only the ban on working on Sundays and public holidays as well as alternative rest days to be granted in accordance with Section 11 of the Working Time Act results in an indirect restriction to this effect.
However, employees cannot be employed for a certain number of consecutive days. In addition to the indirect restriction resulting from the Working Time Act, the European Court of Justice has also issued a ruling to this effect.
Rest on Sundays and public holidays must be respected
First of all, you should know that working on Sundays and public holidays is prohibited by law. Consequently, employees cannot be employed on Sundays and public holidays between midnight and midnight. 1.
Therefore, the maximum number of consecutive working days is for most employees 6 days – Monday to Saturday. Saturday is considered a normal working day, so employees can in principle be obliged by their employer to work on a Saturday without any problem.
However, the Working Time Act provides that a total of 16 professions or industries are exempt from rest on Sundays and public holidays. 2. If the employee works in one of these industries/professions, working on Sundays and public holidays is also legally permitted.
Calculated up to 32 consecutive business days
For professional groups exempt from Sunday and public holidays, the number of working days that can be worked at one time is significantly higher.
This would be purely mathematically the case up to 32 consecutive business days possible. Although the Working Time Act states that an alternative rest day must be granted for Sunday work, this alternative rest day must only be granted within two weeks before or after Sunday work.
If two days of alternative rest are granted before the first Sunday work, continuous working time of up to 32 days can be obtained by carrying forward the following days of alternative rest.
However, although up to 32 consecutive working days are mathematically allowed, there may be other restrictions under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In addition, reference is often made to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which significantly reduces the maximum number of consecutive working days.
CJEU rules: a maximum of 12 consecutive working days
On September 9, 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled in a dispute between a Portuguese casino employee and his employer that one day off per week should be granted. 3. From this it follows that A maximum of 12 consecutive working days is allowed are.
It should be noted, however, that there is a crucial difference between German and Portuguese labor law.
The German Working Time Act provides a reference period of up to 14 days for the weekly rest period – this is in accordance with the European Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC. 4. However, as mentioned above, Portuguese labor law provides for at least one day off per week.
What now applies to Germany?
It cannot be directly inferred from the decision of the European Court of Justice that a maximum of 12 consecutive working days is permitted in Germany.
The German Working Time Act implements the European Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC within a reference period of 14 days, which does not necessarily legally contradict the ECJ ruling.
Although ECJ judgments take precedence over national law and may require appropriate adjustments, there is currently no clear violation of the law.
It cannot necessarily be assumed that a comparable case in Germany would lead to a similar result.because the directive leaves room for maneuver to Member States in its implementation.