A big hit or just the regulation of the essentials: what do you think of Minister Hubertus Heil’s draft for a new working time law?
What is more interesting is what is not included in the draft law. Actually, it is announced in the coalition agreement that one wants to try out a real flexibilization of the working time rules at least in the context of experimental rooms. The main issue here is the previously very rigid rules on maximum working hours per day and rest periods. There is nothing about this in the bill. I ask myself: When will that finally come?
Why would such far-reaching flexibility be important?
Because the way we all work is evolving. The current law prevents both employees and employers from using this to their advantage. The typical nine-to-five job still exists in large parts of the economy, but not in some. It no longer fits the way people work there.
In what way?
In reality, working days are much more fragmented than the law allows. You work until 3 p.m., then you pick up the children and spend time with them, and in the evening you sit down at the computer again. However, there are very rigid limits to this within the legally prescribed rest period of eleven hours, and that is an obstacle. The situation is similar with the maximum daily working time: some employees would like to work more than ten hours a day in order to be able to finish work early. This is also not possible under the law.
Why do you need a law that is largely not observed?
Holger Schaefereconomist
How big is the gap between legal rules and economic reality?
Nobody knows for sure. But one has to assume that many people violate the Working Hours Act, for example in the offices of members of the Bundestag. When it is the week of the session, the work is very intensive. And certainly often without eleven hours of rest between the working days. Such violations are common in certain areas. Why do you need a law that is largely not complied with, but still hangs over employers and employees like the sword of Damocles? It would be high time to come to modern rules.
A real opportunity was missed there, and that’s disappointing.
Holger Schaefer on the Ministry of Labour’s draft
The trade unions in particular fear that flexibility would harm employees and that work would increasingly encroach on private life.
On the other hand, I believe that such a reform would benefit both sides. The desire for flexibility does not always come from employers alone. Employees want to be flexible in their working day. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, making this possible has become an important instrument of personnel policy for employers.
Back to what should actually be regulated in the future law. Is it to be expected that, as a result of the law, overtime hours that have so far remained unpaid will suddenly become visible – and thus the balance of power between companies and employees will shift?
The problem with unpaid overtime is not so much that it is not visible. But there are also a lot of contracts that do not provide for overtime compensation. I have such a contract myself and think it’s good that I was able to make such an agreement voluntarily. So do many other workers. The issue of unpaid overtime mainly affects higher-skilled workers. This is not so much a problem for workers working in precarious conditions.
But even among the more highly qualified, there are many workers who do not want to justify themselves if they do not want to work more than the agreed time.
They don’t have to. What applies is what has been contractually agreed – i.e. voluntarily by both sides. In times when there is a shortage of skilled workers, employees are perfectly capable of representing their interests with self-confidence. The shift in the balance of power has long since occurred – even without a law.
There is much discussion as to whether trust-based working hours will remain possible with the new law. How important is this as an instrument for the labor market?
It matters, as an expression of flexibility. As an expression of the fact that I, as a company, am able to give my employees a certain freedom of action. a certain agility. Being able to decide for yourself how much and when to work in order to achieve agreed goals can be an important factor in job satisfaction.
How do you see the draft from the Ministry of Labor overall?
A real opportunity was missed there, and that’s disappointing.
