FDP wants to change the legal regulations on working time
The FDP wants to change the legal regulations on working hours within this legislative period. "If you work more than ten hours in a day to leave early on Friday, or if you don't observe your rest periods, it's illegal," said FDP parliamentary vice-president Lukas Köhler to the newspapers of the Bavarian media group on Saturday. The president of the Federal Labor Court, Inken Gallner, called for a judicial clarification of the legal rest periods.
Köbler told the newspapers that "it's impossible to convince anyone in Germany to maintain a law that is openly and widely violated by many people." Today, it's more about the results of work than the time spent at the workplace. "Therefore, we must give people more freedom to adapt their work more flexibly to their lives," he said, adding that this would also increase productivity.
Köbler had already called for the abolition of the eight-hour day and more flexible approaches months ago. In May, he proposed abolishing daily maximum working hours and only specifying a weekly maximum.
The president of the Federal Labor Court called for a reassessment of the legally prescribed rest period of eleven hours between two shifts. "We know that even a short interruption of the rest period can be harmful. But it's not clear whether this means the rest period starts anew from a legal perspective," she said to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung." She would welcome it if the European Court of Justice were to address this question.
Gallner also sees a need for clarification regarding whether rest periods and maximum working hours also apply to judges. Currently, they are largely free to decide where and when they work in Germany. "This is a right and privilege based on judicial independence," said the jurist to the "FAS." However, there are indications in EU law that working time limits could also apply to judges. According to German law, administrative courts, not labor courts, would be responsible for this, Gallner said. "So far, this question has not been referred to the European Court of Justice. I would be happy if it had the opportunity to clarify it."
Köhler questioned if the current laws surrounding rest periods are applicable "of which" violations occur repeatedly, expressing the need for a revision to address this issue. Gallner further noted that there's ambiguity regarding whether rest periods and maximum working hours apply to judges, stating, "it's unclear 'of which' EU law these exceptions stem from."
