The Central Association of the German Bakery Trade called for an amendment to the planned law on Sunday working . The longer working hours envisaged for bakeries were welcome, the association said in Berlin. But allowing businesses to produce on Sundays only for sale on the same day did not fit their working practices. The restriction should be removed during the further legislative process.
Under the draft from the Federal Ministry of Labour, employees in bakeries and confectioners’ shops would be allowed to spend up to eight hours on Sundays and public holidays making and delivering baked goods. The Working Hours Act currently sets a three-hour limit for these activities. The planned change does not affect shop opening hours.
The association does not consider the additional time sufficient on its own. It said that in many bakeries, sourdough starters and other doughs had to be prepared on Sunday for the following day. Some production processes extended over several days. The association’s president, Roland Ermer therefore called for the necessary preparation for the following day to be allowed as well. Businesses should be able to decide for themselves when to make which baked goods.
The dispute is therefore not just about how long people can work, but also about the purpose of that work. Extending the permitted working time could make production and delivery on Sunday easier. However, the association says a problem would remain if work on goods for sale on Monday were excluded. This is the position of the trade association; whether and to what extent the draft allows individual preparation tasks would need to be clarified during the further process.
The current exemption is set out in Section 10 of the Working Hours Act. It allows employees to work for up to three hours on Sundays and public holidays making and delivering confectionery and bakery products that are sold on that day. The Act also contains other exceptions to the general protection of Sundays and public holidays as days of rest.
The of the Federal Government, published on the same day. They show both increased participation in the had agreed in its coalition agreement to extend the exemption for the bakery trade. It also referred to this in a reply to an enquiry published on 10 June 2026 in the Bundestag. The Central Association considers the commitment only partly fulfilled by the draft currently before it. It also points out that many businesses supply several branches and that the current time limit makes production and delivery more difficult.
The draft law is not yet a change in force. According to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa), it is due to be discussed by the Cabinet in December 2026 before being submitted to the Bundestag. The changes are due to come into force in early 2027. It remains to be seen whether the proposal will be amended before then.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).