Sundays and public holidays; application for a permit for the employment of workers

As an employer, you require an official permit if you want to work on a Sunday or public holiday in your company, unless there is a legal exception.

Apart from a few statutory exceptions, the employment of workers on Sundays and public holidays is subject to approval.

Provided that the work cannot be carried out on weekdays, authorization for work on Sundays or public holidays is required by law for exceptions in accordance with Section 13 (3) No. 2 a), b), c) of the Working Hours Act (ArbZG):

• to prevent disproportionate damage in a company if special circumstances make this necessary
• for the organization of in-house and order fairs for commercial resellers
• for the legally prescribed stocktaking on one Sunday a year, if this cannot be carried out on a weekday.

• in the case of publicly noticeable work: Statement of the municipality responsible for the place of employment
• in the case of an existing staff delegation, information on its decision to submit an application
• Work on Sundays and public holidays for other clients: statement by the client on the necessity of work on Sundays and public holidays
• Justification that the work scheduled on Sundays and public holidays is not possible on weekdays

You can only apply for permission to work on Sundays and public holidays if you are an employer and the work cannot be carried out on weekdays.

A permit for working on public holidays is required for the federal state in which a public holiday is celebrated and in which work is to be carried out. The company headquarters principle applies.

Provided that the work cannot be carried out on working days, a permit may be issued in accordance with Section 13 (3) No. 2 a), b), c) of the Working Hours Act (ArbZG) if

• special circumstances arise in a business that cause disproportionate damage (on up to five Sundays and public holidays per year),
• in the commercial sector, special circumstances necessitate extended business operations (e.g. for in-house and order fairs organized exclusively for commercial resellers) on up to ten Sundays and public holidays per year and
• the statutory stocktaking is to be carried out and cannot be carried out on a working day (one Sunday per year).

• You can apply for a permit to work on Sundays and public holidays in writing or online.
• If the requirements for a permit are met, you will receive a notice of approval. If the application documents show that the application cannot be approved, you will be asked to withdraw the application. If the application is not withdrawn, you will receive a rejection notice.
• If the documents or information required for processing are incomplete, you will be contacted by the competent authority.

Written submission

• Send the informal application with the required documents to the trade supervisory office (or the mining authority if the company is subject to the Federal Mining Act) responsible for the company headquarters.
• For foreign applicants without a registered office in Germany, the trade supervisory office (or the mining authority if the company is subject to the Federal Mining Act) in whose supervisory district the place of employment is located is responsible.

Electronic submission

• The application can be submitted digitally to the competent authority using the online procedure.
• The attachments are uploaded in electronic form (files in PDF format).

The fees are

• for 1 Sunday/holiday: at least EUR 50.00
• for up to 100 employees per employee: EUR 3.00
• for more than 100 employees per additional employee: EUR 1.50
• for applications for several Sundays and public holidays from the 2nd Sunday and public holiday: 75% of the above costs

• Every employee who is employed on a Sunday or public holiday must be granted a substitute rest day.
• The employee's working time may not exceed 10 hours.
• If the employee's working time exceeds six hours, he/she must be granted a rest break of at least 30 minutes. If the working time exceeds nine hours, he/she must be granted a rest break of at least 45 minutes.
• The name and duration of employment of the employee working on a Sunday or public holiday must be recorded.
• A separate exemption in accordance with Art. 5 of the Act on the Protection of Rest on Sundays and Public Holidays (Public Holidays Act - FTG) is not required.
• Exceptions to the prohibition of employment on Sundays and public holidays result from the ArbZG itself as well as various other legal regulations (e.g. Shop Closing Act, Ordinance on the Needs of the Trade, etc.).