The Youth Employment Protection Act (JarbSchG) protects and promotes underage trainees and workers in Germany. In this blog post, we look at the key paragraphs on working hours, break regulations and medical monitoring. We also show practice-oriented solutions on how you can implement legal regulations using our software for project time recording.
These are the basic rules at a glance
Protecting young people in the working world is of fundamental importance, and the Youth Employment Protection Act provides the legal framework, particularly for underage workers and trainees. The most important basic rules of the Youth Employment Protection Act (JarbSchG) in Germany are:
RegulationDescriptionWorking hoursMaximum 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week
Working time between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
30 minutes of rest if you work more than 4.5 hours
60 minutes if you work more than 6 hours
Daily time offAt least 12 hours uninterrupted.Week rest period at least two consecutive days off.Night rest work between 20:00 and 6:00 (industry-specific exceptions) .Vacation entitle30 days under 16 years, 27 days under 17 years, 25 days under 18 years of age. Participation in vocational school time is considered working time
Leave of absence for more than 5 lessons
Dangerous workProhibition of activities hazardous to health (exceptions under supervision) .Health ExaminationsFirst examination before start, follow-up after one year.
These principles are intended to ensure that the health and development of underage workers are protected. For a more detailed explanation, see the following chapters.
How many breaks do young people have to take?
An important aspect of the Youth Employment Protection Act can be found in Section 11, Which Regulates Breaks for Young People Defined. The length of the break depends on the working time:
Young people are not allowed to work continuously for longer than 4.5 hours without taking a break. This means that if you work for more than 4.5 hours, a break of 30 minutes must be granted. If you work more than six hours, you must ensure a break of 60 minutes!
Only work breaks of at least 15 minutes are considered to be breaks that At the earliest one hour after the start and At least one hour before the end of working hours Should be granted. In the best case scenario, your trainees take their breaks outside the business premises. If this is not possible, as an employer, you must ensure that work within your business premises can be stopped during the break so that Necessary recovery Young people are assured.
The Youth Employment Protection Act: Which regulations apply?
The Youth Employment Protection Act (JarbSchG) provides the legal framework to protect young people at work, in particular for underage trainees. These regulations aim not only to ensure a good work-life balance, but also to preserve the physical and mental health of young people. Strict compliance with legal requirements is essential for employers to ensure comprehensive training and a responsible transition to working life.
The main aspects of the Youth Employment Protection Act (JarbSchG) are discussed in detail below:
Section 8 — Working Time Arrangements
According to § 8, young people may not exceed Eight hours a day and 40 hours per week Work.
This paragraph of the JarbSchG sets clear guidelines on working hours for underage trainees. This section aims to ensure a good work-life balance and protect the physical health of adolescents. As an employer, it is crucial that you carefully comply with these regulations in day-to-day business to ensure the well-dosed integration of training and working time.
§§ 9 and 10 — Exemption for vocational school lessons & exams
Employers must apprentices Leave for Vocational School Lessons. If school starts at 9 o'clock in the morning, young people are not allowed to work in the company beforehand, as well as on school days with more than 5 lessons. This also applies to vocational school weeks with scheduled block lessons of at least 25 hours and 5 days.
Paragraphs 9 and 10 Concern the Exemption of Young People to Attend Vocational School and Take Part in Exams. In particular, the crediting of vocational school periods must be taken into account. These regulations underline the importance of school education as an integral part of young people's professional development. Careful coordination between the training company and school education is essential to ensure comprehensive training.
Sections 32 and 33 — Initial and Follow-Up Investigations
According to Section 32 JarbSchG, persons who have not yet reached the age of majority at the start of their training must carry out an initial examination. This investigation is intended to Within the last 14 months before starting work Are done to give young people the opportunity to make career choices that suit their health.
Sections 32 and 33 regulate initial and follow-up examinations for underage trainees. As an employer, you may only employ minor adolescents if they have a certificate issued by a doctor. The first follow-up examination in accordance with Section 33 JarbSchG is required 10 to 12 months after taking up employment if the trainee is still under the age of majority. As an employer, you must ensure that your trainees are reminded of the follow-up examination at an early stage and that they have the appropriate certificate presented to them.
Compliance with youth employment protection with ZEP: Discover the benefits!
Now that we have examined the central aspects of the Youth Employment Protection Act, let's take a look at practical solutions for implementing these regulations. Here is our Project time recording software ZEP in the game. If you are already working with ZEP, you know the benefits that our tool offers you in hectic everyday business life. But did you know that you are also on the safe side when it comes to youth employment protection?
1. Successful working time management: Comprehensive support in scheduling
ZEP offers you comprehensive support for various working time requirements in your company, ensuring compliance with legal regulations such as the Youth Employment Protection Act. Since minors are not allowed to work more than eight hours a day or more than 40 hours a week according to § 8 JarbSchG, our software offers you the following benefits:
✅ Set standard working hours per day or per month
✅ Define individual working days and working hours
✅ Dynamic calculation of standard working hours per working day
✅ Convenient adjustment of working time models per day or month
2. Effective planning: This is how vocational school days can be optimally mapped
ZEP offers you comprehensive support for various vocational school days requirements for your trainees, ensuring compliance with legal regulations such as the Youth Employment Protection Act. Since vocational school days are counted towards young people's working hours in accordance with § 9 JarbSchG, our software offers you the following benefits:
✅ Create a specific missing reason for vocational school days
✅ Record vocational school days as a full day, half day or specific time window
✅ Flexibility when documenting vocational school days
✅ Convenient adjustment of recording to block lessons or regular lessons
With absenteeism management in ZEP, you comply with all legal requirements and ensure that teaching times, including breaks, are taken into account in total working hours. In this way, you can ensure that legally required rest periods and limits are met.
3. Break arrangements for trainees: Simply define & control
In ZEP, we offer you comprehensive support for defining break regulations in accordance with JarbSchG in order to ensure legal requirements for underage trainees. This feature allows you to:
✅ The definition of mandatory minimum rest periods and maximum working hours per day.
✅ Monitoring whether your trainees comply with the established rest periods, minimum breaks and core working hours.
✅ The activation of appropriate warnings in ZEP if the break regulations are not complied with.
By carefully structuring rest periods, with ZEP, you are making a significant contribution to meeting the protection requirements for working young people in accordance with Section 11 JarbSchG and ensuring a secure job.
4. Never miss anything again: Your personal reminder with ZEP
With our Ticketsystem We offer you the option to create specific tasks or events in the form of tickets that have a due date. It is important to note that the due date can be set to the exact day but not the time. This feature allows you to:
✅ Create tickets with a due date for specific tasks or events
✅ Determination of the due date within prescribed deadlines, such as the follow-up examination in accordance with § 33 JarbSchG.
As in any case, the same applies here: Trust is good, control is better. We therefore recommend that you also add a reminder to your ZEP calendar to be on the safe side. I'm sure nothing can go wrong that way!
Exceptions in the Youth Employment Protection Act
Even within legal regulations, there are exceptions that take specific industries and situations into account. The Youth Employment Protection Act is no exception here. Here is an overview of some of these exceptions:
RegulationDescriptionWorking time during the harvest seasonYoung people over 16 years of age may work a maximum of 9 hours per day and a total of no more than 85 hours in a double week. (§ 8 (3) JarbSchG) .Weekend work and holidays-specific regulations in Sections 16 and 17 of the Youth Employment Protection Act, which establish exceptions for work on weekends and public holidays, taking into account the well-being of young people. Determine working hours and breaks, such as a daily working time of up to 9 hours or a reduction of breaks by 15 minutes, provided that the health and safety of young people is not endangered. Operating Agreements Companies that are not bound by collective agreements can adopt certain regulations, provided that they would apply to the company. A clear agreement with employees is required to ensure that the interests of all parties are taken into account.
Employers face these sanctions if they disregard the break regulations for young people!
The Youth Employment Protection Act contains provisions to protect children and young people at work. Among other things, it regulates working hours, breaks, holidays and health protection. Anyone who violates these regulations can Fines Or even imprisonment is imposed.
For example, anyone who employs children or adolescents acts in violation of regulations even though they are still subject to compulsory full-time schooling or violates the permitted working hours. Failure to provide rest breaks or minimum free time can also be punished. As an employer, you are also required to keep certain documents and to make workspaces safe.
Depending on the infringement, the fines may be up to
.
The Act aims to protect the health and development of children and adolescents and ensure that they receive appropriate care and support during their employment.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Youth Employment Protection Act plays a central role in ensuring the rights and health of underage trainees. Compliance with legal regulations, in particular with regard to working hours, vocational school lessons, break regulations and health checks, is not only mandatory but also fundamental for comprehensive education and healthy development of young people.
Our software for project time recording offers field-proven solutions to help you implement and comply with these legal requirements. Through working time management, you can effectively implement the legal working time restrictions in accordance with § 8 JarbSchG. The flexible organization of vocational school days and the integration of break regulations ensure full compliance with legal requirements. In this way, you are not only legally on the safe side, but also actively promote the structuring of all training-relevant processes.
Do you have any questions about functionality, break arrangements or setting individual core working hours? Unser Support team We are happy to support you!
FAQs
From what age can you work?
According to § 2 JarbSchG, young people may only be employed after a certain minimum age. In principle, this minimum age is 15 years. However, there are also exceptions for light jobs for which young people from the age of 13 can be employed (§ 5 JarbSchG). However, it is important to note that specific age limits and restrictions may apply to certain jobs and industries.
What else needs to be considered with regard to young people's work breaks?
The work breaks of young people are regulated in § 11JarbSchG. According to this paragraph, young people may not work more than 4.5 hours at a time without taking a break. For working hours of more than 4.5 hours, a break of at least 30 minutes is required; if you work more than 6 hours, it is 60 minutes. These breaks must be granted within certain time frames and should ideally be taken outside business premises in order to promote young people's recovery.
Are there any differences to the legal break regulations for adolescents and adults?
Yes, while there are general rules for adults, which are set out in working time laws, breaks for young people are specifically defined in the Youth Employment Protection Act (JarbSchG). The break rules for young people are generally stricter than those for adults. For example, young people must take a longer break than adults after shorter working hours and there are specific time requirements for the start and end of breaks. This serves to adequately protect the health and development of young people.
