1. salary
2. overtime
3. approval of vacation
4. right to have a say
5. time limits
6. dismissal by the employer
7. severance pay
8. reference letter
9. parental leave
10. employee rights in the event of heat
1. salary: check your employment contract
Some employers add wage components to the minimum wage in order to reach 8.84 euros per hour. According to employee rights, this is often not permitted.
Vacation or Christmas bonuses may not be offset if they are special benefits or are intended to reward loyalty to the company. Night bonuses may also not be taken into account. The situation may be different for overtime, public holiday and Sunday bonuses. Check the wording in the collective agreement or in your employment contract.
2. according to labor law, overtime must be paid
Employees are regularly expected to work unpaid overtime because there is a corresponding clause in their employment contract.
A clause such as "Required overtime is compensated with the monthly salary" is inadmissible because it goes too far. In general, you only have to work the contractually agreed working hours. Only in justified exceptional cases can you be obliged to work more. And: Overtime must always be paid. However, you are only entitled to bonusesif a collective agreement applies. If your employer refuses to pay you, you must prove that you have worked the overtime. Have this confirmed in writing. Make a note of when, to what extent and why it was necessary.
3. approval of leave
Employees are not granted leave. Some companies also require employees to be available by e-mail or telephone during their vacation.
The employer may reserve the right not to grant leave for operational or illness-related reasons. In this case, however, there is still a corresponding entitlement to compensation. As far as availability during the vacations is concerned, the following applies: Vacation is a "release from work duties" and is used for recreation, so the boss cannot demand that you receive or process messages during this time. This also applies to the end of the working day. The exception: you are on call or on call duty.
4. right to have a say
In large companies, employers usually appreciate the good and necessary cooperation with works councils. However, smaller companies in particular, which are often run by owners, often see them as an encroachment on their entrepreneurial freedom and therefore sometimes try to prevent the formation of a works council by dismissing employees or boycotting the election.
Obstructing the work of a works council or the election of a works council is a punishable offense. The law therefore offers members special protection against dismissal. It is strongly advisable not to hold an election to the works council without the support of the relevant trade union. It provides advice and has a regional and national network of works councils and employees in the sector.
5. fixed-term contracts
Some employers avoid hiring employees for an indefinite period of time for as long as possible.
Employers are allowed to set time limits on contracts if there is a reason for doing so - for example, if an employee is on prolonged sick leave or parental leave. If an employee has never worked for the employer before, the fixed-term contract may also be for two years without there having to be a reason. In order to extend this period, some employers offer continued employment in the same job - but the contract is concluded with another employer, such as another limited partnership under the same roof. This is also permissible - subsequent employment is only prohibited with the same employer after the two years have expired. It is currently highly controversial whether an employer may rehire an employee on a fixed-term contract without objective grounds after a three-year break.
6 Termination by the employer
An employer often terminates an employee on the off chance that there is no reason for termination.
According to employee law, such dismissals are invalid, but it is important to seek legal advice immediately. The employee must file a complaint against the dismissal within three weeks. The period begins after receipt of the notice of termination. It also runs if the employee is on vacation. If he finds the letter in his letterbox after the deadline has expired, he can only file a complaint within two weeks. If he misses this deadline, the dismissal is deemed to be legally effective. In any case, an employer may only dismiss without notice in particularly serious circumstances.
7 Severance pay
Sickness-related reasons are often used as an excuse to avoid payment. Or the employee is offered to continue working under less favorable conditions.
Such a change can be accepted with reservations and examined in court. Otherwise, employees are entitled to severance pay if a works council has concluded a social plan with the employer. Social plans only cover redundancies for operational reasons, otherwise any severance pay is freely negotiated.
8. reference letter
Some sentences should not be included in the reference - even if they sound benevolent. This is because they are often meant negatively. The experts at www.karrierebibel.de therefore advise you to watch out for ambiguities. Here are a few examples:
- He has specialist knowledge and healthy self-confidence. In other words: He covered up his lack of specialist knowledge and skills with arrogance.
- She was quickly popular with customers. Meaning: She made many concessions and was unable to negotiate.
- He always showed great empathy for the needs of the workforce. Meaning: He flirted more on the job than he worked.
- His sociability helped to improve the working atmosphere. In other words: The employee has an alcohol problem.
- She tackled the tasks assigned to her with great enthusiasm. Meaning: But don't ask how chaotic she was!
- He was capable and able to defend his opinion. Meaning: He couldn't take any criticism at all.
- She knew how to delegate all tasks successfully. Meaning: She was lazy and delegated her work to colleagues.
- He was always a good example because of his punctuality. Meaning: But he had nothing more to offer than punctuality.
- She was refreshing in her dealings with colleagues and superiors. Meaning: The employee was cheeky and had no manners.
- He was a sociable and outgoing colleague. In other words, he was sociable but not sociable. Nobody really liked him.
- We wish her all the best for the future, especially success. Meaning: Unfortunately, she had no success with us.
You may also be interested in these employee rights
9. parental leave
Your employer refuses to grant you parental leave? That's not allowed! Both mother and father have a legal right to parental leave. They are granted unpaid leave from work and receive parental allowance from the state during this time.
They are entitled to parental leave for each child and it lasts 36 months for both parents. For the father, parental leave begins at the earliest with the birth of the child; for the mother, it usually begins at the end of maternity leave. However, the application for parental leave must be submitted in writing to the employer seven weeks before the start of the leave. The application must be signed by hand; a fax, e-mail or text message is not sufficient. However, you do not need your employer's consent. Parental leave can also be extended if, for example, you have only taken two years. To do this, you must submit a written request to your employer seven weeks before the end of your existing parental leave. An extension of parental leave can also be requested for important reasons such as illness of the partner or child. More information at www.gansel-rechtsanwaelte.de!
Employee rights in hot weather
Are you sweating profusely, your head is pounding and your concentration is completely lost? Do employees actually get time off in the heat?
No, there is no such thing as heat-free time as we know it from school. "Employees have no direct legal entitlement to air-conditioned rooms orheat-free time," says Kersten Bux, an expert at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) in Dortmund. However, this does not mean that employees have to continue working even at oven temperatures (except bakers).
But: as a general rule, office temperatures should not exceed 26 degrees. This is a recommendation. If the temperature exceeds 30 degrees, the employer must take action - this is actually mandatory. Ideally, they should ensure that the rooms are cooled. However, they may also move working hours to cooler mornings or shorten them. Of course, they can also voluntarily give employees the day off. If the temperature in the office exceeds 35 degrees, it is no longer suitable for working. However, this can only affect phases of the day, which is why employees cannot simply pack their things and go home. For example, if maximum temperatures are reached in the office at lunchtime, work could continue in the late afternoon. However, if the employer does not act and the temperature remains this high, you are entitled to refuse to work. Remember: this relates to the temperature in the office and has nothing to do with the outside temperature.
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