Is there a 4-day week in Germany?
No. Germany has no national 4-day week and no law that shortens the standard week. The first pilot study in Germany was a six-month trial in 2024, run by Intraprenör, the University of Münster and 4 Day Week Global. In early 2024, 45 organisations aimed to trial a shorter week and 44 started; two large ones dropped out after two months and one that cut pay in proportion was excluded, so the report analysed 41. About 900 employees switched, and weekly hours fell by 3.95 on average. Revenue and profit showed no significant change from the previous year, and participants slept 38 minutes a week longer than a control group, but the report found no strong evidence of fewer sick days.
A follow-up report found that in February 2026, 70% of the 40 responding organisations still operated some form of reduced working time, 30% did not, and 22% had adapted their model.
Policy points the other way. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in May 2025 that with a four-day week and work-life balance Germany would not keep its prosperity. The 2025 coalition agreement wants to make a weekly instead of a daily maximum working time possible. In the Saarland steel industry, an IG Metall agreement of December 2023 lets company-level parties cut the 35-hour week to 32 hours, with 33 hours paid, where jobs are under pressure.
Caveat: the pilot firms chose to take part, and the organisers excluded firms that planned to cut pay or only compress hours.
Latest developments
SPD working groups set conditions on a weekly working-time maximum
Tagesspiegel reports that four SPD party working groups accept a weekly instead of a daily maximum only under strict conditions, with a collective-agreement requirement as their red line. Chancellor Merz expects a bill from the labour minister in the autumn.
Tagesspiegel: Reform des Arbeitszeitgesetzes (6 Oct 2026) (opens in new tab)Münster follow-up: 70% of pilot firms still reduce working time
Two years after the start, 70% of the 40 responding organisations operated some form of reduced working time and 30% did not; 22% had adapted their model. The report now speaks of work time reduction rather than a four-day week.
The 4-Day-Week in Germany: A Follow-Up Two Years After the Start of the Trial (2026) (opens in new tab)Chancellor Merz: four-day week will not preserve prosperity
Before his first government statement, Merz said Germany must work more and more efficiently, and that with a four-day week and work-life balance the country's prosperity could not be preserved.
bpb: Vier-Tage-Woche (19 May 2025) (opens in new tab)
4-day-week trials in Germany
What each pilot reported. Figures are the organiser's own, from the linked report.
German 4-day week pilot (Intraprenör, University of Münster, 4 Day Week Global)
Run by Intraprenör, University of Münster, 4 Day Week Global
- Feb 2024
- 45 companies
- 900 employees
In early 2024, 45 organisations aimed to trial a four-day week for six months (official start 1 February 2024; others began from January to June); 44 started and 41 were analysed. Weekly hours fell by 3.95 on average. Revenue and profit showed no significant difference from the previous year and sick days did not clearly fall; participants slept longer and had fewer stress minutes than controls.
Revenue and profit (12 organisations gave figures) showed no significant difference from the previous year; the authors read this as suggesting some productivity gains, supported by management perceptions and self-reported employee data.
- Mental health: Smartwatch data showed 89 fewer stress minutes per week than the control group; participants also reported significant improvements in mental and physical health.
- Physical health: +1,848 steps and +24.45 minutes of physical activity per week versus the control group. No strong evidence of lower absenteeism.
- Sleep: +38 minutes per week versus the control group.
Jobs in Germany
Social Media Manager
Hydraid · Hybrid · Munich, Germany
4 Day Work Week
Senior iOS Developer
Troido · Hybrid · Düsseldorf, Germany
4 Day Work Week
Who offers a 4-day week in Germany
Troido
Agile software development company specializing in Java and Spring Boot.
Giant Swarm
Giant Swarm provides an API-driven cloud native platform for Kubernetes, empowering teams to build modern software with a 4-day work week and fully remote culture.
Flexus AG
German SAP intralogistics IT consultancy (Würzburg) with a 32.5-hour week counted as full-time — reduced hours at full pay.
Händlerbund
One of Europe's largest e-commerce associations (Leipzig), now operating a four-day week at full pay as standard.
Lemonize
Digital agency in Ulm, Germany specializing in innovative web solutions, UX design, and customer portals with a 36-hour work week and unlimited PTO.
Hydraid
A Munich electrolyte-drink start-up on a four-day, 35-hour week at full pay with Fridays off; hybrid, with roles open on its jobs page.
How Germany compares
Germany, the labelled dot, against the other countries we cover.
Average weekly hours
3rd shortest of 25 countries, 2.8 hours below the median of 37.3.
Netherlands 31.3 to South Africa 42.3
See all 25 countries
| Country | Hours |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 31.3 |
| Denmark | 33.3 |
| Germany | 34.5 |
| Norway | 34.6 |
| Australia | 35.4 |
| Austria | 35.6 |
| Finland | 35.6 |
| Switzerland | 35.7 |
| Belgium | 36.0 |
| Ireland | 36.0 |
| United Kingdom | 36.3 |
| France | 36.9 |
| Sweden | 37.3 |
| Iceland | 37.4 |
| Japan | 37.5 |
| Spain | 37.5 |
| New Zealand | 37.6 |
| United States | 38.2 |
| Lithuania | 39.0 |
| South Korea | 39.4 |
| Brazil | 39.5 |
| Chile | 39.8 |
| Poland | 39.9 |
| Portugal | 40.0 |
| South Africa | 42.3 |
Usual weekly hours on the main job, all employed people, from the OECD (latest year, 2024 or 2025). It includes part-timers. No comparable figure for: Canada, Philippines, United Arab Emirates.
Statutory paid leave
Joint 12th longest of 26 countries, level with the median of 20.
United Kingdom 28 to United States None
See all 26 countries
| Country | Days |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 28 |
| Austria | 25 |
| Denmark | 25 |
| Finland | 25 |
| France | 25 |
| Sweden | 25 |
| Iceland | 24 |
| Brazil | 22 |
| Portugal | 22 |
| Spain | 22 |
| Norway | 21 |
| Australia | 20 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| Germany | 20 |
| Ireland | 20 |
| Netherlands | 20 |
| New Zealand | 20 |
| Poland | 20 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| Chile | 15 |
| South Africa | 15 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Canada | 10 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Philippines | 5 |
| United States | None |
The legal minimum a year, in working days on a five-day week, before public holidays. Definitions differ: some countries set weeks or calendar days (converted here), the UK lets public holidays count and the United States has no national minimum. Each country page says what its number covers. No comparable figure for: Lithuania, United Arab Emirates.
Working in Germany
Working hours
Employed people work 34.5 hours a week on average (OECD, usual hours in the main job, 2025). The Working Hours Act caps the working day at eight hours, extendable to ten if the average does not exceed eight hours over six months or 24 weeks. Under the Federal Leave Act, working days (Werktage) are all days except Sundays and public holidays, so Saturday counts.
Paid leave and holidays
The Federal Leave Act gives at least 24 working days a year (Werktage, which include Saturdays), the equivalent of four six-day weeks. For someone working five days a week that is 20 days, and public holidays are not counted as leave.
Part-time and flexible work
In 2024, 28.9% of employed people aged 20-64 worked part-time, against 17.1% in the EU. Employees with more than six months' service at a firm that normally has more than 15 employees have a legal right to reduce their hours, with three months' notice. The employer must agree unless operational reasons stand in the way, and a further request is possible at the earliest two years after the employer agreed to a reduction or justifiably refused one.
Remote work
In 2025, 22.9% of employees aged 15-64 worked from home usually (11.6%) or sometimes (11.3%), according to Eurostat.