[cptwunderlich]

That's different. Shift work - also around the clock - is allowed, as long as the individual worker's rest times are respected. The point being that there are three shifts of each 8 hours, not one worker works 24 hours.

[dheera]

Sure, I get that, that's how 24 hour stores work as well, but they are almost nonexistent in Germany. I don't know if they are legally banned or whether it just culturally lacks a market, so I'm openly asking that question here to people who understand German labor laws.

The only overnight operations during my short time there I really saw were essential services such as in security, hospitals, and transportation industries.

Night shift workers do take a huge health hit, both physical and mental, and a social life hit, and I could see a government like Germany's putting some controls over night shifts for non-essential services, so wondering if that was the case or not.

[Xylakant]

Shift work is absolutely normal in all kinds of industry. There’s no rule against night shifts in general, however, there are limits on work duration (normally 8hours per day/40 hours per week) and breaks between shifts - at least 11 hours of downtime. It’s also normal that night/late shifts get extra pay. So it’s only really common in places where the capital expenditures for the machines are high enough to make that worthwhile - or for example in plants that cannot easily be shut down.

24 hour stores not being a thing is a separate issue: there are laws that regulate opening hours for stores and they generally do not allow for 24/7.

[Swenrekcah]

You have to pay a premium for the night shifts, so no grocery store will support that (unless the owners work themselves or their families for submarket rates).

[LargoLasskhyfv]

The premium for night shifts isn't what it once was, anymore. The fact that most groceries close 22:00 sharp just shows how insanely low their revenue is. Few exceptions exists in places where it makes sense volume-wise. 'Spätis' exist mostly in Berlin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A4tkauf I know of a few others in my town, where they are simply called 'Kiosk'.

[bosie]

at least in austria it is. total weekly supermarket hours are limited unless for a special reason (in tourism villages or near transportation hubs (bus stations, train stations and the like)) and they can only be open between 5am and 9pm, though supermarkets can't do that as the total would be higher than allowed. where i live they open at 7:40am and close at 8pm mo-fri and 740 to 6 on saturday

[LargoLasskhyfv]

We have gas/fuel stations for that. Meanwhile that turned into their main source of revenue/income above the sold fuel.