Working hours calculator: hours and breaks under the ArbZG
Enter start, end and break: the calculator shows your working time, the break the German Working Hours Act (ArbZG) requires and the earliest you may start again. It runs in your browser, nothing is sent.
8:30hours worked
- Time on site
- 9:00
- Break taken
- 30 min
- Break under § 4 ArbZG
- 30 min
- Over/under contracted hours
- +0:30
- Earliest start afterwards
- 04:00 the next day
- The break is long enough for these hours.
- More than 8 hours: allowed if the average over six months or 24 weeks stays at 8 hours per working day (§ 3 ArbZG).
How much break am I entitled to?
The break depends on the working time without breaks (§ 4 ArbZG):
| Working time | Minimum break |
|---|---|
| up to 6 hours | none |
| more than 6 up to 9 hours | 30 minutes |
| more than 9 hours | 45 minutes |
- Breaks can be split, but only parts of at least 15 minutes count.
- Nobody may work more than 6 hours in a row without a break.
- The break has to interrupt the work and be fixed in advance. Taken at the end, it doesn’t count.
- Breaks do not count as working time (§ 2 (1) ArbZG).
Maximum hours and rest periods
- 8 hours per working day, up to 10 if the average over six months or 24 weeks stays at 8 (§ 3).
- At least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest between two working days (§ 5).
- The night period runs from 11 pm to 6 am; night work is anything covering more than 2 hours of it (§ 2).
- Employees under 18 fall under the Youth Employment Protection Act, with its own limits.
Does the break count as working time?
No. Under § 2 (1) ArbZG, working time runs from the start to the end of work without the rest breaks. Someone on site from 8 am to 5 pm with a 30-minute break works 8:30 hours.
How much break do I need for exactly 6 hours?
None. § 4 ArbZG requires 30 minutes only for more than six hours of work and 45 minutes for more than nine. Working 6:15 hours therefore needs a 30-minute break.
May I take the break at the end and leave early?
No. A rest break interrupts the work and is fixed in advance, and nobody may work more than six hours in a row without one (§ 4 ArbZG). A break at the end of the day doesn’t count.
What applies to young employees?
For employees under 18 the Youth Employment Protection Act applies: 30 minutes of break for more than 4.5 up to 6 hours, 60 minutes for more than 6 hours (§ 11 JArbSchG), and as a rule at most 8 hours a day (§ 8). This calculator works to the Working Hours Act.
Does the employer have to record working time?
Yes. Following the Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires recording start, end and length of daily working time. Hours beyond 8 per working day had to be recorded before (§ 16 (2) ArbZG).
Record working time without doing the maths
Record working time in the browser, on the phone or at a terminal, with a time account, Working Time Act checks, a payroll export and project hours if you wish.