germany labor-law
Is a 10 hour workday in Germany 9AM until 7PM or 9AM until 7:45PM?
<p>From what I found in the google-translate of (what I believe is) the relevant <a href="https://www.justiz.nrw.de/Gerichte_Behoerden/fachgerichte/Arbeitsgericht/arbeitszeit/index.php?fragenId=14732280#frage_14732280" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ministry of Justice page</a>,
it seems that lunch and breaks count towards the maximum of 10 hours per day in Germany.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Pauses fixed in advance - such as the lunch break - do not count as breaks for working hours.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The google-translate version sounds weird, but if we take it at face value, it sounds as if the maximum working day is 9:15 hours working + 45 min required break.</p>

<p>I believe this is different from how most other countries treat lunch breaks...</p>

<p>Note: That may not be the MoJ page, I can't really tell</p>

<p>7:45 PM (10 hours work, 45 minutes break) for the maximum allowed workday that starts a 9 AM. </p>

<hr>

<p>In this sense <strong>working hours</strong> means the actual time you are working (and being paid for) </p>

<ul>
<li>so a break <strong>does not</strong> belong to the <strong>working hours</strong></li>
<li>the <strong>working hours</strong> are being <strong>interrupted</strong> by the break</li>
</ul>

<p>A break must take place after a period of 6 hours. </p>

<p><strong>Insurance coverage during work (Arbeitsunfall)</strong>:<br>
The time from/to</p>

<ul>
<li>the place of work (without interuption), from home</li>
<li>the place where you eat during a break

<ul>
<li>including time to an external restaurant </li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>you are insured as if you are working. </p>

<p>You are not insured:</p>

<ul>
<li>while you eat (or go shopping) during a break </li>
<li>when going home: stop at a restaurant or go shoping</li>
<li>when going to work: from home to the end of shopping </li>
</ul>

<hr>

<p>Google Translate often has problems with the verbs, depending on where they are placed. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Im voraus feststehende Pausen - etwa die Mittagspause - <strong>zählen</strong> als Ruhepausen <strong>nicht</strong> zur Arbeitszeit.</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Pauses fixed in advance - such as the lunch break - breaks <strong>do not count</strong> as part of the working hours.</p>
  </blockquote>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li>here Google uses <strong>stopped</strong> instead of <strong>interrupted</strong>:</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
  <p>The work must be <strong>interrupted</strong> [<strong>unterbrochen</strong>] by a pre-fixed rest period of at least 30 minutes with a working time of more than six hours and 45 minutes with a working time of more than nine hours.  After the end of the daily working hours, workers must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The original law formulates this slightly differently</p>

<ul>
<li>and is translated properly 

<ul>
<li>other than using Workers instead of Employees</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/arbzg/__4.html" rel="noreferrer">Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG) § 4 Ruhepausen</a></strong><br>
  Die Arbeit ist durch im voraus feststehende Ruhepausen von mindestens 30 Minuten bei einer Arbeitszeit von mehr als sechs bis zu neun Stunden und 45 Minuten bei einer Arbeitszeit von mehr als neun Stunden insgesamt zu unterbrechen. Die Ruhepausen nach Satz 1 können in Zeitabschnitte von jeweils mindestens 15 Minuten aufgeteilt werden. <strong>Länger als sechs Stunden hintereinander dürfen Arbeitnehmer nicht ohne Ruhepause beschäftigt werden</strong>.</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The work must be interrupted by a minimum of 30 minutes' rest in advance for a working time of more than six to nine hours and 45 minutes for a working time of more than nine hours.  The rest breaks according to sentence 1 can be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes each. <strong>Employees may not be employed without rest for more than six hours in a row</strong>.</p>
  </blockquote>
</blockquote>

<p>In general, the legal text found at </p>

<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de" rel="noreferrer">https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de</a></strong> </li>
</ul>

<p>translate well with only occasional changes needed (Android Application). </p>
