Breaks do not count towards working hours in Germany at least [0]. You may be confusing a week of e.g. 38 paid hours plus a few hours of unpaid breaks with a "4

Breaks do not count towards working hours in Germany at least [0]. You may be confusing a week of e.g. 38 paid hours plus a few hours of unpaid breaks with a "40 hour work week"? [0] "Arbeitszeit im Sinne dieses Gesetzes ist die Zeit vom Beginn bis zum Ende der Arbeit ohne die Ruhepausen", § 2 Abs. 1 ArbZG, see: https://dejure.org/gesetze/ArbZG/2.html https://dejure.org/gesetze/ArbZG/2.html