Sweden

Legal minimum regulations: 40 hours /week

Collective agreement regulations: 40 hours /week

Germany

Daily working hours are 8 hrs. per day (48 hrs. per week) as a median within 24 weeks or six months (on a six-days week basis). It can be on that basis extended to an max. of 10 hrs./day and 60 hrs./week.

Collective agreement regulations are usually 40 hrs a week within the frame of sectoral EU-Regulation. In some CA five days working week is notified.

Lithuania

Legal minimum regulations: 40 hrs./week, overtime allowed

Collective agreement regulations: The same but often violated

Poland

Legal minimum regulations: Regulated under AETR agreement

Collective agreement regulations: Not applicable

Latvia

According to the Labour Law

Regular Working Time

(1) Regular daily working time of an employee may not exceed eight hours, and regular weekly working time – 40 hours. Daily working time within the meaning of this Law shall mean working time within a 24-hour period.

(2) If daily working time on any weekday is less than the regular daily working time, the regular working time of some other weekday may be extended, but not more than by one hour. In such case the provisions of the length of weekly working time shall be complied with.

(3) Regular working time of employees exposed to special risk may not exceed seven hours a day and 35 hours a week if they are engaged in such work for not less than 50 per cent of the regular daily or weekly working time. The Cabinet may determine regular shortened working time also for other categories of employees.

Length of a Working Week

(1) A working week of five days is specified for employees. If due to the nature of the work it is not possible to determine a working week of five days, an employer, after consultation with employee representatives, shall specify a working week of six days.

(2) If a working week of six days is specified, the length of daily working time shall not exceed seven hours. The length of the daily working time for employees whose regular working time may not exceed the length specified in Section 131, Paragraph three of this Law may not exceed six hours.

(3) Work on Saturdays shall be ended earlier than on other days. The length of the working day on Saturdays shall be specified by a collective agreement, working procedure regulations, or by an employment contract.

Length of Daily Working Time before Holidays

Before holidays the length of the working day shall be reduced by one hour, unless a shorter working time has been specified by a collective agreement, working procedure regulations, or an employment contract.

Overtime Work

(1) Overtime work shall mean work performed by an employee in addition to regular working time.

(2) Overtime work is permitted if the employee and the employer have so agreed in writing.

(3) An employer has the right to employ an employee on overtime without his or her written consent in the following exceptional cases:

1) if this is required by the most urgent public need;

2) to prevent the consequences caused by force majeure, an unexpected event or other exceptional circumstances which adversely affect or may affect the normal course of work activities in the undertaking; or

3) for the completion of urgent, unexpected work within a specified period of time.

(4) If overtime work in the cases referred to in Paragraph three of this Section continues for more than six consecutive days, the employer needs a permit from the State Labour Inspection for further overtime work, except in cases when repetition of similar work is not expected.

(5) Overtime work may not exceed 48 hours within a four-week period and 200 hours within a calendar year.

(6) It is prohibited to employ in overtime work persons who are under 18 years of age, pregnant women and women for a period up to one year after giving birth, but if a woman is breastfeeding then during the whole period of breastfeeding.

Aggregated Working Time

(1) If due to the nature of the work it is not possible to comply with the length of the regular daily or weekly working time prescribed for the relevant category of employees, the employer, after consultation with employee representatives, shall prescribe aggregated working time.

(2) Aggregated working time may not exceed 56 hours a week and 160 hours within a four-week period unless otherwise provided for by a collective agreement or an employment contract.

(3) The work performed by an employee beyond the hours specified in Paragraph two of this Section shall be regarded as overtime work.

(4) If aggregated working time has been prescribed, an employee shall be granted rest time in accordance with a work schedule.

Working Time of Crews of Vehicles

According to the Road Traffic Law

Requirements in Respect of Organisation, Observation and Records of Working Time of Crews of Vehicles

(1) The requirements in respect of the organisation, observation and recording of working time of crews of vehicles who perform carriage with vehicles to which Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No. 3821/85 and (EC) No. 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3820/85 [hereinafter – Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006] applies, shall be determined by the Cabinet.

(2) Exceptions, when the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 are not applied, shall be determined by the Cabinet.

[15 February 2007]

Duration of Working Time of the Crew of Vehicles

(1) The weekly working time of a crew of a vehicle may not exceed 48 hours, taking into account that a week is a time period between 00.00 on Monday and 24.00 on Sunday.

(2) The crew may be employed above the working time specified in Paragraph one of this Section, but not by more than 60 hours per week. In such case the average weekly working time over four months may not exceed 48 hours.

(3) An employer upon agreement with representatives of the employee may change the working time specified in Paragraph two of this Section, if the average weekly working time over six months does not exceed 48 hours.

(4) If a crew performs the work at night from 01.00 up to 05.00, then the total working time per twenty four hours may not exceed 10 hours. An employer upon agreement with the representatives of the worker, may change the referred to working time at night, specifying, that it is at least a four hour time period from 00.00 to 07.00.

(5) In order to ensure the observance of the conditions referred to in this Section, working time accounting shall be performed.

(6) The conditions regarding the length of the working time of a crew of a vehicle referred to in this Section shall applied only in such cases when carriage is performed with vehicles to which Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 or the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) applies.

[15 December 2005; 15 February 2007]