Request to reduce working hours: part-time or bridging part-time (Germany)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
An employee's request in Germany to cut working hours, permanently under § 8 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) or for one to five years as bridging part-time under § 9a TzBfG, with current and desired weekly hours, the start date, the end date for bridging part-time and the preferred spread over the week. It reaches the employer in text form at least three months before the start; unless the employer refuses in text form a month before, the hours are reduced as asked. Requires over six months' service and over 15 employees (over 45 for bridging part-time). In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (street and number, postcode and town on separate lines)
- City
- Date
- Employee's personnel number
- Kind of reduction (permanent, or bridging part-time for one to five years)
- Date of hiring
- Current working hours
- Requested working hours
- Start date
- End of the reduction (bridging part-time only)
- Preferred spread of the hours over the week
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Who is entitled to part-time work under § 8 TzBfG in Germany?
- Employees whose employment has lasted more than six months, where the employer usually employs more than 15 people, not counting trainees (§ 8(1) and (7) of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act). No reason has to be given. The employer may refuse only for operational reasons, for example where the reduction would substantially impair the organisation, the workflow or safety at work, or cause disproportionate costs (§ 8(4) TzBfG).
- How early, and in what form, must a part-time request be made in Germany?
- At least three months before the desired start, in text form (§ 8(2) TzBfG): an e-mail is enough, as is a signed letter. State how much the hours are to be cut and, if possible, how they should be spread over the week. If the start date is too early, this letter asks in the alternative for the earliest permissible date. Keep proof of when the request arrived — the time limits run from that day.
- What happens in Germany if the employer does not answer a part-time request?
- The employer must give its decision in text form at least one month before the desired start. If it has not refused in text form by then and nothing else was agreed, the hours are reduced as requested and the preferred spread over the week applies (§ 8(5) TzBfG). A refusal given only orally is not enough. After a justified refusal, a new reduction can be requested two years later at the earliest (§ 8(6) TzBfG).
- What is bridging part-time in Germany, and when is it the better choice?
- Bridging part-time (Brückenteilzeit) is a reduction of working hours for a period fixed in advance, of at least one and at most five years, after which the earlier hours apply again automatically (§ 9a TzBfG). It is available where the employer usually employs more than 45 people. With 46 to 200 employees, the employer need only grant it to one person per 15 employees or part of 15 at a time. Anyone who wants a guaranteed return to full hours chooses it instead of open-ended part-time.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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