Rights at work: Surcharges for overtime and night work explained

Rights at work: Surcharges for overtime and night work explained

Saarbrücken, Deutschland - Saarbrücken- The world of work is concerned with a hot topic: wage surcharges for overtime, night work and services on Sundays and public holidays! While there are clear rules in many collective agreements, the burning question arises: What applies to employees without a collective agreement? Here are the crucial facts!

overtime and holiday services

Anyone who works on Sundays or public holidays only gets the contractually defined remuneration. Anke Marx, a lawyer at the Saarland Chamber of Labor, clarifies: There is no surcharge by law! There is only a claim to more money if this is expressly anchored in the employment or collective agreement. It looks similar for overtime: Payment is usually carried out on the normal conditions, unless there are special agreements. A legal right to overtime surcharges? None!

night work: a special case

But then the night work comes into play! The Working Hours Act is clear here: Employees are entitled to adequate compensation, be it through leisure or a financial surcharge. However, what "appropriate" means remains vague. According to the Federal Labor Court, it should be at least 25 percent of the gross hourly wages. During permanent work, it can even be up to 30 percent if the conditions are correct. This means that for every hour of night work, employees could receive an additional 15 minutes of free time per hour!

The uncertainty remains: employers decide how night work is compensated for, and the exact design often remains unclear. It is only clear that employees are well advised to carefully examine their contracts and to assert possible claims. In a world in which working hours are becoming increasingly flexible, it is crucial to know your own rights!