Working Time Regulations 1998

The German working time law affects the public safety at work. It limits the maximum daily working time, it sets minimum rest breaks during working time and minimum rest periods between cessation and resumption of work and rest on Sundays and public holidays established. It also includes protection rules on night work. The law is binding on employers and employees.

The Working Hours Act serves to implement the European Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 and Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time into German national law. Before the entry into force of the Law on working time working time of employees in Germany in the Working Time Regulations ( AZO), and in several special laws was regulated.

Purpose of Working Time Act is to ensure the safety and health of workers at work activities and to improve the framework for flexible working hours, and to protect the Sundays and the officially recognized holidays as days of rest from work and of spiritual edification of employees ( § 1 Arbeitszeitgesetz ).

Scope

The Working Hours Act applies to all employees ( workers and employees and of their vocational training employees); except gem. § 18 the following groups of people and industries:

  • Senior executives within the meaning of § 5 paragraph 3 of the Works Constitution Act,
  • Chief physicians,
  • Head of public services and their representatives and employees in the public service who are empowered to make independent decisions in personnel matters,
  • Workers with their care persons live together in the same household and educate them on their own responsibility, maintain or supervise,
  • The liturgical area of churches and religious communities,
  • Persons under 18 years, which is subject to the youth employment law,
  • Workers on merchant ships as crew members, which is subject to the Maritime Labour,
  • Workers as crew members of aircraft, which is subject to the EU - Ops ( Subpart Q).

The Working Hours Act therefore does not apply to civil servants and soldiers. For officials special civil service Working Time Regulations ( the federal and state ) apply. The working time arrangements in § § 3 and 13 of the Act does not apply to employees who entrust tasks - and thus tasks of an official - perceive, unless there is a collective agreement for these cases (§ 19).

Working time regulations

Working time for the purposes of this Act is the time from the beginning to the end of the working day, excluding breaks. In individual cases, contractual changes are possible. After the basic regulation in § 3 Arbeitszeitgesetz the daily hours of work of employees must not exceed eight hours. It can only be extended up to ten hours if within six calendar months or 24 weeks in an average of eight hours working day is not exceeded. For night workers the compensation to an average of eight hours must acc. § 6 para 1 sentence 1 Arbeitszeitgesetz be made ​​within one month.

When raw materials or foods to spoil or to miscarry work results threaten or in research and teaching, in urgent ago and theses as well as urgent works for the treatment, care and support of persons or for the treatment and care of animals on certain days, may of the above regulations be waived. It is then that the weekly working time of 48 hours on average six calendar months or 24 weeks shall not be exceeded. (§ 14 Arbeitszeitgesetz )

The Working Hours Act provides a framework that can be expanded, however, by written agreements between the social partners ( collective agreement, operating agreement ) or waivers of the competent authority under the Act.

Sundays and public holidays

Basically may acc. § 9 Arbeitszeitgesetz workers are busy on Sundays and bank holidays from 0 to 24 clock. In multilayer farms with regular day and night shifts may start or end of Sunday and holiday rest by up to six hours back moved forward or back when resting the operation for the following to the beginning of the rest period 24 hours. For driver and passenger of the beginning of the 24-hour on Sundays and holidays to rest up to two hours may be brought forward.

Generally exempt from the Sunday and holiday work daily rest are vital work ( paramedics, emergency medical technician, doctors, nurses, employees of the fire department) or urgent or otherwise, § 10 Arbeitszeitgesetz work listed that can not be moved on working days.

Other exceptions are possible by different rules in a collective agreement, an operating agreement or in individual cases with the approval of the supervisory authority.

If the employee lives in another state than that in which it operates, or is operating in a different state than the Place of work, forcing the holiday law of the state, in which the employee is to be considered active ( work principle).

Rest breaks and rest periods

Must work a day longer than six hours an employee is to give him according to § 4 Arbeitszeitgesetz a fixed ahead of rest of at least 30 minutes, if the driver worked for more than nine hours, the rest must be at least 45 minutes. The rest may be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes. For more than six consecutive hours shall not be employed without respite workers.

According to § 5 Arbeitszeitgesetz workers must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours to return to work after the end of the working day.

In hospitals and other facilities for the treatment, care and support of people in restaurants and other facilities for catering and accommodation, in transport companies, in broadcasting as well as in agriculture and animal husbandry, the duration of the rest period may be reduced to ten hours, if any shortening the rest period is compensated within one calendar month or within four weeks by extension of another rest period to at least twelve hours.

Shortening the rest period for employees in hospitals and other facilities for the treatment, care and support of people by the fact that the employee is taken during a call in time of peace time, the extent shortened rest period may be offset at other times when the time the use of no more than half of the rest time is.

Violations of the law

Violations by the employer of the provisions of the Working Time Act can be fully prosecuted as misdemeanors punishable by a fine of up to 15,000 euros per violation according to the catalog of § 22 Arbeitszeitgesetz. Commits the employer violations of the substantive provisions of the law ( and not only to notice and information requirements ) intentional and is to endanger health or worker an employee or repeats the employer to breach doggedly, he commits an offense of Nebenstrafrechts, it is with a one year imprisonment or a fine not reinforced.

Perpetrators, only the employer ( contractor ) or the person responsible according to § 9 OWiG be § 14 of the Criminal Code. Responsible persons are the management or a person who has been specifically authorized to carry out functions on their own responsibility, the responsibility of the owner of the company, as a duly authorized officer or member of a body authorized to represent is responsible.

Participation rights of the works council

The works council must monitor in accordance with § 80 Section 1 No. 1 WCA fact that the Working Time Act is complied with, is his duty to continue to promote safety and health measures ( § 80 Section 1 No. 9 WCA).

The works council has a say in comprehensive collective regulations concerning the beginning and end of the working day, the location of the breaks and the distribution of working on days of the week and the temporary extension of the usual operational working hours ( overtime ) (§ 87 Section 1 No.. 2 and No. 3 WCA). This also applies when temporary workers are affected.

Examples:

  • Flexible working hours,
  • Introduction or removal of shift work,
  • Preparation of duty rosters,
  • Arrangement of Sunday work
  • Establishment and development of a call,
  • Introduction of on-call service,
  • Telecommuting, computer's operating time,
  • Working time of relocations,
  • Introduction, design, modification, or removal of any working time models.

Pictures of Working Time Regulations 1998

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