Left-wing politician Anne Zerr criticized the rising number of people working on Sundays and holidays. Commenting to the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition), she noted the increasing frequency of illegal Sunday and holiday work, alongside a growing number of employees affected by official exceptions allowing weekend and holiday shifts. She also highlighted that official controls in these areas have been steadily decreasing.
Zerr strongly criticized the planned relaxation of the Working Hours Act, stating that the current law is already “full of holes like Swiss cheese” and frequently ignored across various sectors.
According to the data reported by the newspaper from the Federal Ministry of Labour’s response to an inquiry by the Left parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the number of employees required to work on Sundays and holidays via exception permits has more than doubled since 2015. The figure rose from approximately 25,000 in 2015 to a substantial 51,700 employees in 2025.
Concurrently, the number of documented violations due to illegal Sunday and holiday work jumped by over 1,600 percent between 2015 and 2025, reaching 98 cases. However, this data is only recorded by six federal states.
Furthermore, the Ministry’s reply indicated a national decline in working hour inspections. In 2024, the number of controls decreased by roughly eleven percent compared to the previous year, dropping from 14,529 to 12,972. Compared to 2015, the number of controls saw an even steeper reduction of 23 percent, falling from 16,878 to 12,972.
