German State Defies EU Court Ruling on Work-Hour Tracking as Academics Log 11 Extra Hours Weekly
Published on 06/25/2026 at 07:56 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
More than 8,000 researchers employed by universities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are effectively working 11 hours a week beyond their paid contracts, according to union data, yet the state’s science ministry refuses to enforce a mandatory time-tracking system that labour courts have required for years.
The GEW education union sharply criticised the ministry’s position on 24 June. Its state chairwoman Sandra Astáras accused the government of deliberately ignoring binding legal precedent. The European Court of Justice ruled in May 2019 that employers must install a reliable system to record daily working hours. Germany’s Federal Labour Court confirmed that obligation in September 2022.
A recent DGB university report underlines the gap: researchers on a 20-hour contract log an average of 31.3 hours per week. The GEW is demanding immediate implementation of the recording requirement to protect health and comply with maximum working-time limits. A public forum on the issue is scheduled for 7 July in Rostock.
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Federal Overhaul in the Works
Parallel to the standoff in the north-east, the federal labour ministry under Bärbel Bas released a draft reform of the Working Time Act in June. The proposal keeps the daily eight-hour ceiling and allows the existing ten-hour extension. A new option would let collective-bargaining partners agree on a weekly instead of daily maximum, permitting up to 48 hours over a twelve-month average. In such cases the mandatory eleven-hour rest period could be waived.
The centrepiece is mandatory electronic recording of start, end and duration of each workday, to be logged the same day. Businesses with up to ten employees may keep paper records indefinitely. Larger companies face transition periods of two to five years. Trust-based working time remains lawful, but does not free employers from the documentation duty.
Business, Opposition and Unions All Push Back
The draft has drawn fire from multiple directions. Jana Schimke, chief executive of the DEHOGA hospitality association, warns that small and medium-sized firms bear the brunt. With only about 23 percent of hospitality businesses bound by collective agreements, most of the sector cannot access the proposed flexibilisation.
The centre-right CDU opposition also rejects the plan. Carsten Linnemann demands flexible rules for all companies, regardless of whether they operate under a collective contract. He sharply criticises the bureaucratic burden of electronic time recording.
On the other side, unions are mobilising. DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi warns that workdays exceeding ten hours pose health risks. A DGB survey found 98 percent of employees oppose such long hours.
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Wider Strains on Public-Sector Labour
The time-tracking dispute is one front in a broader debate about working conditions. In Hesse, the GEW is pushing for fewer fixed-term contracts and more co-determination rights as part of a revision of the state’s university law. In Hamburg, the Senate plans to raise the weekly working time for civil servants from 40 to 41 hours and add one extra working day per year—a move already facing organised opposition.
Labour scientists from the AOP-GA initiative call for an evidence-based discussion. They argue that abandoning the eight-hour day standard could increase mental illness and absenteeism, and that the current protections are essential for maintaining workforce productivity.
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