Overview
- The clocks will be turned back from 3:00 to 2:00 in the night from Saturday to Sunday, 24–25 October 2026, giving one extra hour but restarting the twice‑yearly schedule that has run since 1980.
- Physikalisch‑Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) maintains Germany’s legal time with atomic clocks in Braunschweig and the DCF77 transmitter in Mainflingen sends a pre‑change signal that prompts many radio‑ and network‑connected devices to update automatically.
- Consumers should manually check and, if needed, reset ovens, microwaves, simple digital clocks, some car radios and certain heating controllers and programmable timers because models vary in whether they adjust themselves.
- Night‑shift workers effectively work one extra hour because the hour repeats, and under German labour law employers must pay or compensate that actually worked time according to contracts or collective agreements.
- The political debate over ending the semiannual switch remains unresolved in the EU with a commission study due by the end of 2026 and possible Council discussion under future presidencies that could determine whether the practice continues.