Remuneration

Employees are entitled to payment of the statutory minimum wage. minimum wage in accordance with the Minimum Wage Act . The statutory minimum wage is adjusted at regular intervals by an ordinance of the Federal Government based on the proposal of a minimum wage commission.

Information on the current level and the calculation of the statutory minimum wage can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and on the website of the customs authorities . The customs administration is responsible for monitoring compliance with the requirements of the Minimum Wage Act.

Employees may also be entitled to collectively agreed pay conditions if their employer and the employee are bound by a collective agreement or the collective agreement has been made binding by a declaration of general applicability under the Collective Agreement Act or an ordinance under the Posted Workers Act.

In the care sector and in the area of temporary employment minimum wages can be set by ordinance. In the case of nationally binding collective agreements or an ordinance in the temporary employment or care sector, the customs authorities check whether the minimum wages are complied with. The customs authorities provide information on the minimum wages that they monitor on their website .

Working hours

In the period covered by the Working Hours Act (ArbZG) the weekly working hours can be distributed over the individual days by collective agreement or individual contract. The start, end and breaks of the daily working time can also be specified. In doing so, the employer must take into account the comprehensive co-determination right of the works council pursuant to Section 87 (1) No. 2 BetrVG.

Severely disabled people have the right to have their working hours adapted to their disability (Section 164 (4) no. 4 SGB IX).

Maximum working hours

Which working hours are to be worked and when is therefore generally determined by the collective agreement, company agreement or employment contract on which the respective employment relationship is based.

The maximum permitted working hours is primarily determined by the Working Hours Act, but also by other special working time protection regulations, for example the Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG) .

8 hours of work per working day is generally the maximum daily working time. Working days are the days from Monday to Saturday.

The working day can be extended to extended to up to 10 hours hours if, within a period of 6 months, the working time is balanced so that an average of 8 hours per working day is not exceeded.

The question of the maximum permissible working hours also includes on-call duty and standby duty also count as working time.

If employees are also employed by several employers employers, the combined working hours may not exceed the maximum working hours.

Work breaks

For working hours of more than 6 hours, a break time of at least 30 minutes and a break of at least 45 minutes if the working time exceeds 9 hours.

This minimum break time can also be divided into several breaks. The individual break must always be at least 15 minutes. Employees may not be employed for longer than 6 hours without a rest break.

Rest periods

At the end of the working day, the employee must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least uninterrupted rest period of at least 11 hours. must be granted.

The duration of the 11-hour rest period can be in hospitals and similar institutions as well as in certain companies be shortened by up to one hour if the reduction in the rest period is compensated. This also applies, for example, to restaurants, catering and accommodation facilities as well as in transport companies or in agriculture.

Employment on Sundays and public holidays

Weekly day of rest is generally Sunday in Germany. The employment of employees on Sundays and public holidays is generally not permitted. However, there are exceptions, for example for work in hospitals, emergency and rescue services, transport companies and restaurants. If certain work is exceptionally carried out on Sundays and public holidays, employees must promptly take a replacement rest day promptly. In addition, at least 15 Sundays per year must remain work-free.

The parties to the collective agreement and the company partners can deviate to a certain extent from the above regulations on working hours. deviations agree .

Health checks and health examinations

Employees who work at night i.e. to a significant extent between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., are entitled to undergo occupational health checks before starting work and at regular intervals thereafter. After the age of 50, employees who work at night are entitled to this right at one-year intervals. The costs of the examinations are generally borne by the employer.

Young people are also entitled to medical examinations if the relevant requirements are met. This includes, for example, the right to an initial examination, an initial follow-up examination and an annual follow-up examination. The employer should inform young people of this option in good time.

Vacation

The minimum vacation according to the Federal Leave Act is 24 days per year, based on a 6-day week. Additional leave entitlements may result from special legislation (e.g. Section 208 SGB IX) or other regulations, such as collective agreements or employment contracts.

Fixed-term employment contracts

Fixed-term employment contracts may only be concluded if this is expressly permitted by law. The Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) contains general regulations on fixed-term employment contracts.

A fixed-term employment contract is only effective if it has been agreed in writing. A fixed-term employment contract usually ends without notice . It can only be terminated with due notice if this has been agreed between the parties to the employment contract or by collective agreement.

Fixed-term employment contracts must always be justified by a objective reason be justified. The Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act contains a non-exhaustive list of possible objective reasons. These include, for example, the replacement of a person.

The following are also permitted fixed-term contracts without objective reasons up to a total duration of 2 years with the possibility of three extensions. The prerequisite for this is that no fixed-term or permanent employment relationship has previously existed with the same employer (so-called prohibition of continuation). A collective agreement can limit the maximum fixed-term period and the number of extensions in the case of fixed-term contracts without objective grounds can be regulated in deviation from the law.

In addition, the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act contains special regulations for fixed-term contracts without objective grounds in newly established companies and with employees aged 52 and over . Outside of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act, there are for certain groups of people special statutory regulations on the limitation of employment contracts, in particular in the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act .

The legally ineffective limitation of an employment contract leads to an open-ended employment relationship. An employee who wishes to have the validity of the fixed-term contract reviewed by a court may file a lawsuit within 3 weeks of the expiry of the fixed-term employment contract.

Working part-time

As a general rule, the employer must take into account an employee's request for a change the duration and position of the existing contractual working hours.

Employees whose employment relationship has lasted longer than 6 months can request that their contractually agreed working hours reduced be reduced. They must inform their employer in writing, for example by email, 3 months before the planned start of the part-time work.

A Legal entitlement to unlimited part-time work is subject to the condition that the employer generally employs more than 15 employees.

Employers who generally have more than 45 employees are also entitled to temporary, i.e. limited part-time work (bridging part-time work) . In this case, the employee automatically returns to the originally agreed working hours at the end of the reduction in working hours agreed for a fixed period, i.e. between one and five years.

The employer can oppose the employee's request for part-time work for operational reasons . In the case of bridging part-time work, there is also a special reasonableness limit for employers with between 46 and 200 employees.

The employer can change the distribution of working hours if the operational interest significantly outweighs the interests of the employee and the employer has announced the change at least one month in advance.

Part-time employees who wish to extend their working hours and notify the employer of this in text form shall be given preferential consideration when filling a corresponding vacant position. Exceptions only apply if there are urgent operational reasons or working time requests from other employees that prevent this, if there is no corresponding vacant position or if the employee is not equally suitable for filling the vacant position as another applicant. The employer must prove such exceptions.

Work on call

In the context of work on call a certain working time budget is agreed for a future period. Employees are then called in by the employer when work is required, called in to perform work .

In the case of call-off work only the distribution of the pre-agreed working time budget is variable. The weekly working hours, on the other hand, must be specified in the contract If this is missing, 20 hours are automatically deemed to have been agreed. The daily duration of the working time must also be specified in the contract; if this is not done, the individual call-off work assignment must last at least 3 hours. There must be at least 4 days between the call for work and the start of work.

Collective agreements can, under certain conditions deviations provide for deviations.

Protection against dismissal

For the termination of the employment relationship certain rules apply. In companies with more than 10 employees, the following applies Dismissal Protection Act . In this case, the employer can only terminate the employment relationship if there is a reason for termination.

Reasons for dismissal The grounds for termination permitted by the Dismissal Protection Act are reasons relating to the person or conduct of the employee or operational reasons.

Both employers and employees must observe the statutory or agreed notice periods. notice periods must be observed.

A termination without notice can only be issued if there is good cause.

Notice of termination must in writing be made in writing.

In addition to the general protection against dismissal, certain groups of people who are particularly worthy of protection. This applies, for example, to pregnant women or severely disabled persons.

An employee who has not been given notice of effectiveness of their dismissal the effectiveness of his or her dismissal in court can file an action for protection against dismissal file an action for unfair dismissal.

Posted employees

Posted workers are entitled to certain working conditions. working conditions which are contained in laws or in certain generally binding collective agreements. The Posted Workers Act regulates which employment conditions apply to posted workers. The applicable employment conditions include in particular

• remuneration
• minimum paid annual leave
• Maximum working hours and minimum rest periods
• Conditions for the hiring out of workers
• safety, health and hygiene in the workplace, including accommodation requirements
• protective measures in connection with working and employment conditions for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth, children and young people
• Equal treatment and non-discrimination provisions
• under certain conditions: Allowances and reimbursement of costs in connection with travel, accommodation and meals for business trips

A detailed description of the applicable working conditions can be found on the website of the Directorate General of Customs .

Unemployment benefit

The unemployment benefit is an insurance benefit . It is financed from the contributions of employees subject to social insurance contributions and their employers. Anyone who has been insured for the minimum period required by law has a legal entitlement to the benefit when the insured event occurs.

Entitlement to unemployment benefit is anyone who is unemployed, has registered personally with the Employment Agency and has completed the qualifying period.

The right to unemployment benefit is regulated in the Third Book of the German Social Code (SGB III).

The responsible benefit provider is the Federal Employment Agency (BA) or the local employment agency.

Basic income support for jobseekers (unemployment benefit II, ALG II for short)

Beneficiaries capable of earning who who are unable to support themselves from their own resources (income or assets) are entitled to benefits to secure their livelihood (unemployment benefit II) if all other requirements are met.

The basic income support for jobseekers is a minimum security system . The benefits are not dependent on contributions and are generally available to all those entitled to benefits who are capable of working.

Responsible for ALG II are the job centers .

The law on basic benefits for jobseekers is regulated in the Second Book of the German Social Code (SGB II).

• Minimum Wage Act
• Information on the current level and calculation of the statutory minimum wage on the website of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
• Information on the current level and calculation of the statutory minimum wage on the website of the customs authorities
• Customs online minimum wage
• Working Hours Act (ArbZG)
• Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG)
• Work on demand
• Dismissal Protection Act
• Directorate General of Customs
• Job center