Working hours & overtime review

Who this review is for

The consultation suits an employer checking a particular pattern of shifts or an employee trying to understand a defined period of additional work. It is especially useful where late finishes meet early starts, travel or on-call periods blur the record, or an overtime clause is being interpreted differently by payroll and staff.

It does not include court representation, collective bargaining, payroll calculation for an entire workforce, or a full employment-law audit. If the documents reveal a wider issue, we explain what further specialist support may be appropriate before any additional work is agreed.

What we examine

We review the facts against the German Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz), including the normal eight-hour working day, the conditions attached to extension up to ten hours, breaks, eleven-hour rest periods, Sunday or public-holiday work, and the records available. Contractual and collective-agreement provisions are considered separately because a breach of a statutory time limit and a claim for overtime pay are not the same question.

Your consultation includes:

• a document review of up to 20 pages supplied in advance;
• a 75-minute meeting with employment adviser Mara König;
• a chronology of scheduled and recorded hours;
• identification of uncertainties, missing evidence and immediate compliance points;
• a concise written action note delivered within two working days.

Preparation

Send the relevant employment contract sections, rota, clock-in or spreadsheet records, payslips showing any overtime treatment, and written messages that instructed or acknowledged extra hours. Redact other employees’ names unless they are necessary to understand the pattern. Do not send medical details or unrelated personnel records.

How the meeting runs

First we confirm the period, role and applicable workplace arrangements. We then map working periods, breaks and rest windows, before separating statutory compliance from remuneration and evidential questions. The final portion is reserved for the next communication: for example, correcting a rota, requesting missing records, or framing a measured question to HR.

Result and limits

You leave with a clear view of what can be concluded from the present material and what remains uncertain. The written note is practical advice based on the facts supplied; it is not a guarantee of an employer, authority or court outcome. Where limitation periods, dismissal risk or litigation are involved, we may recommend prompt advice from a Rechtsanwalt.

Next step

Send a short outline of the period and concern. We confirm scope before asking you to transfer documents and will not begin chargeable work without written agreement.