Apply for different regulations for night work

Prerequisites

• You can only apply for a permit if you are an employer.
• Working hours may not exceed 48 hours per week on average over six calendar months or 24 weeks.

Documents required

Opinion of the works council (if any)

Please note

Night and shift work is regulated by the Working Hours Act.
If you consider it necessary for operational reasons and you do not endanger the health of your employees, you can apply for an exception.
This also includes the possibility of extending the working hours on weekdays to more than eight hours without compensation if the working hours regularly include a significant amount of work or on-call duty and special regulations ensure that the health of the employees is not endangered.

Deadlines

No.

Procedure

You can apply for a permit in writing:

• You submit a corresponding application to the Office for Occupational Safety and Health
• You submit all documents necessary for a decision on your application
• The documents you submit will be checked for completeness and additional documents will be requested if necessary
• If you meet all the requirements, the permit can be granted
• You will receive a corresponding approval notice
• If the requirements are not met, a rejection notice will be issued
• You will receive a fee notice

If you would like to apply for different night work regulations online, you can do so using the free text field in the application. The remaining procedural steps correspond to the written procedure.

If you would like to apply for different night work regulations online:

• Use the free text field of the application in the online service
• The remaining procedural steps correspond to the written procedure

Processing time

The processing time depends on the examination effort. As a rule, you will receive the decision within a few weeks after you have submitted all of the documents.

Fees

The cost is between EUR 100 and EUR 6,000.


The exact costs will be determined after the approval and depend on the number of employees.

Legal remedies

• contradiction


• Objections to the decision can be lodged with the Office for Occupational Safety and Health within one month of notification.


• An unsuccessful objection procedure is subject to a fee.

Legal basis

• § 15 Working Hours Act (ArbZG)


• § 6 Working Hours Act (ArbZG)

You need a permit from the Office for Occupational Safety and Health if night work is to be carried out in your company or company.
Authorization for rework is required by law for:

• shift operations
• Construction and assembly sites
• Seasonal and campaign operations
• offshore activities
• special activities for the construction, modification or operation of structures or artificial islands

Maximum limits apply for certain exceptions.