Labor law regulations also apply to interns. Regarding working hours, the Working Hours Act and the Protection of Young People at Work Act specify how many working hours are permitted during an internship. In this article you will find out which regulations apply, how many hours are allowed, when breaks must be taken and in which cases overtime is permitted.
The most important in brief
When it comes to employment law, interns are largely treated the same as regular employees. Adult interns are permitted to work 8 hours per day and up to 48 hours per week.
Maximum working hours also apply during internships
The legal maximum working hours determine the number of hours employees are authorized to work per day and per week. These rules are defined in the Working Time Act (ArbZG). also apply without restriction for an internship.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a paid internship or not. Just that Age of trainee has an influence on daily and weekly work schedules.
The working time law states that: Up to 8 hours of work per day and up to 48 hours of work per week are permitted. The reason is that Saturday is also considered a normal working day within the framework of the ArbZG.
However, the ArbZG also provides for the possibility of extending daily working hours to 10 hours and weekly working hours to 60 hours. It is crucial that the average working time over a six-month working day does not exceed 8 hours. 1.
The number of working hours to be completed as part of an internship is stated in the underlying internship contract. Usually we go Full-time internship 40 hours per week estimated.
Working hours for minor trainees
However, for minors undertaking an internship, with regard to working hours, it is not the rules of the Working Hours Act that apply, but rather those of the Youth Employment Protection Act.
Young people aged 15 to 17 are allowed a maximum of 8 hours per day and up to 40 hours per week work. Unlike adult trainees, in exceptional cases the daily working time cannot be increased to 10 hours, but only to 8.5 hours.
If working hours are increased on certain days, working hours on another day of the same week must be reduced accordingly in order to respect the maximum weekly working hours. 2.
Furthermore, it should be noted that minor trainees occupied only from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. maybe. Exceptions, however, apply in the bakery sector (16 years from 5 a.m., 17 years from 4 a.m.), agriculture (16 years from 5 a.m. or until 9 p.m.) and in catering and entertainment (16 years until 10 p.m.). 3.
Is overtime even allowed during internships?
In principle, overtime is also permitted during an internship. However, the prerequisite for ordering overtime is an agreement to this effect. In the absence of such an agreement, trainees cannot simply be forced to work overtime.
There is no general obligation to work overtime – neither as part of an internship nor as part of a regular employment relationship. If an employer wishes to order overtime, he must be granted this right contractually.
However, working voluntary overtime is of course permitted and does not normally require a separate agreement. However, interns and employees who are not contractually obliged to work overtime are free to refuse these overtime hours.
For young trainees However, special regulations apply to overtime in accordance with the requirements of the JArbSchG.
Break times also apply during an internship
However, the Act on Working Hours and the Protection of Young People at Work specifies not only how many hours can be worked, but also when and to what extent breaks must be taken.
Adult trainees If you work more than 6 hours a day, you must have one Rest break of at least 30 minutes insert. If you work more than 9 hours, you must take a break of at least 45 minutes.
It is allowed to divide the break into smaller breaks of at least 15 minutes each. In principle, the employer can decide when individual breaks should be taken. 4.
Minor trainees If you work more than 4.5 hours, you are entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes insert. If you work more than 6 hours, you are entitled to a break of at least an hour prescribed.
Here too, the break can be divided into partial breaks of at least 15 minutes each. However, it is necessary a first break at the latest after 4.5 hours of work to be inserted 5.
Night work, weekend work and public holiday work during the internship
In some sectors, it may be necessary to work nights, weekends or public holidays as part of an internship. However, one should always carefully consider whether this is permitted.
1. Saturday work
Working on Saturday can be inconvenient, but it’s not reprehensible under labor law. As already explained at the beginning, Saturdays are considered normal working days.
An exception applies to minors: Here, the law on the protection of young people at work also makes Saturday a non-working day (§§ 16 – 18 JArbSchG).
However, there may be other exceptions for younger interns in certain industries.
Section 16 of the JArbSchG lists numerous sectors in which youth employment is also permitted on Saturdays. These include, for example, the health system, restaurants but also bakeries, hairdressers and transport.
2. Work on Sundays and public holidays
Work on Sundays and public holidays is open to adult and minor trainees. basically prohibited.
However, in some industries, Sunday work affects both adults and young people. Exceptions. Depending on the sector, working on Sundays and public holidays may be permitted.
Even Exceptions also apply to public holidays. However, young people are generally not allowed to work on the following public holidays: December 24 and 31 after 2 p.m., December 25, January 1, May 1 and the first day of Easter. 6.
3. Night work
Young interns are generally not allowed to work at night. As mentioned above, youth employment in agricultural enterprises is permitted until 9 p.m. and in restaurants and show business until 10 p.m.
In all other sectors, young people are no longer allowed to work after 8 p.m.
However, no such general prohibition applies to adult trainees. – They are subject to the rules of the law on working time. Night work is therefore also permitted within the framework of an internship and can be ordered by the employer if this is customary in the company or if there is a contractual agreement to this effect.
An opinion: This article does not constitute legal advice. If you have specific legal questions or concerns, we recommend that you consult an attorney.