The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) is calling for more flexible rules regarding weekly working hours to apply generally, and not just to companies bound by collective agreements. (Photo: © auremar/123RF.com)
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July 2026
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts is now criticizing the draft law on working time reform in detail. It is demanding improvements to provide more flexibility and less bureaucracy.
The German government has now presented the draft bill to amend the Working Time Act, which had initially only leaked, to industry associations. The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) criticizes it based on individual provisions and demands comprehensive improvements.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) sees no sufficient improvements for business owners and employees in the current draft legislation . The draft fails to deliver on the modernizations promised in the coalition agreement and offers no real flexibility for businesses and employees. The compatibility of work and family life is given short shrift.
Overall, the draft legislation deviates from the provisions set out in the 2025 coalition agreement and does not lead to any noticeable increase in flexibility. Instead of modern solutions, it creates new bureaucratic hurdles . Flexible working hours remain particularly important for skilled trades – for example, due to changing work locations, on-call duties, or employees' individual desires for a better work-life balance.
A key point of criticism is the planned maximum weekly working hours , which, according to the draft, would only be possible through collective bargaining agreements. The association argues that these regulations exclude many companies , as collective bargaining is often lengthy and difficult. Therefore, the necessary flexibility would be practically impossible to achieve in small and medium-sized enterprises.
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Furthermore, the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) rejects mandatory daily electronic time tracking . This goes beyond the requirements of the European Court of Justice and the Federal Labour Court. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular would be disproportionately burdened by this requirement . Paper-based or flexible solutions are sufficient. The transition would incur high costs for equipment, software, and training. Businesses with mobile workplaces, such as those on construction sites, would be especially affected.
The association welcomes the option of delegating the documentation of working hours to employees . However, from the perspective of the skilled trades organization, it remains unclear how far the employer's responsibility extends. The association is also critical of the restrictions on trust-based working hours. Despite delegating the recording obligation, complete documentation would still be necessary. "This contradicts the coalition agreement," the ZDH warns.
Further criticism is directed at new information obligations regarding working time regulations and employees. From the association's perspective, these are unnecessary and merely create more bureaucracy.
The association also believes that the exceptions to collective bargaining agreements regarding time tracking do not go far enough. The association demands that more flexible rules should apply generally , and not just to companies bound by collective agreements.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) considers the planned threshold of ten employees for exemptions from time tracking to be too low . It calls for a limit of fifty employees to ease the burden on small businesses. Furthermore, the association argues that the benchmark should be the individual business, not the employer as a whole.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts rejects new fines introduced as part of the reform. They argue that these would put additional pressure on businesses. The confederation also considers the relaxations for bakeries on Sundays and public holidays insufficient. The regulations are still too strict and create competitive disadvantages.
The ZDH therefore calls for a fundamental revision of the draft law in order to create a more practical, flexible and less bureaucratic working time law.
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