To simplify: it’s essentially work X hours per week, performing the job duties described for the position, the specifics of which will be supplied to you by your boss (they tell you what to do).

If your boss believes you are performing a satisfactory amount of work for the time spent, you keep your job. If not, or they just don’t like you for some reason not protected by law, you lose your job.

You do what they tell you and hope they are happy with the results.

it's this way in the US too, if people would read the actual contract for a typical office white collar job 40hrs/week is in there along with whether or not you get paid overtime. Most IT workers do not get paid overtime but some do. In some US jobs paid overtime is required by law and in others it is not. Also, different US states have different labor laws too so there's multiple governments and laws involved plus the whatever the employee and company have negotiated between themselves. I can't think of a single labor law that applies to every single working person in the US no matter what they're paid for. [edit: except taxes]

Cap

I have been in Munich in September and seen the offices empty out at 2pm on a Tuesday for Oktoberfest. No one took a vacation day or stayed late on Wednesday.

Salary rates are yearly, bonuses are percentages of that salary, and shares are in quantity. Payment schedule is biweekly or monthly. Paid time off has no specific limit, but subject to approval by management (usually just don't take more than two weeks at a time and plan ahead according to workload). Sick/parental leave depends on federal and local laws. Federal holidays are mandatory.

This compensation package is reviewed yearly, and your role is simply a job title. I'm approaching middle age and have worked my entire adult life. Nowhere have I ever seen any hours specified. The closest to that is when I've had to help HR fill in the billable hours on timesheets for specific projects with certain clients. That's usually just approving whatever blanks Jira filled in for ServiceNow.

I'm, of course, not talking about working at a startup.