Working Life > Modes of Working > Sunday Work

Sunday Work: Working on Sundays and Public Holidays

Definition, Explanation

According to the Act on Working Hours, employees are not allowed to work on Sundays and public holidays from 00:00h to 24:00h. In companies with shift operation, the begin or end of Sunday and holiday rest can be moved forward or back by 6 hours. The basis for this is the adherence to a rest period of 24 hours. Motorists and co-drivers can move this rest period forward by 2 hours. That means that Sunday work starts on Saturday 22:00h at the earliest and ends on Sunday at 22:00h.

Within the law, there are a number of exceptions, in order to be able to guarantee the provision of work of vital importance in the health services and in an emergency and carry out work that cannot be done on working days. By means of trade agreements, company agreements or authorization from the supervisory authorities, further exceptions are permitted. However, the provisions on rest periods from work, on working hours, on stand-by services and on-call services still apply. In the scope of maternity protection, mothers-to-be and breastfeeding mothers are not permitted to work on Sundays or public holidays.

In order to create an incentive to work on Sundays or public holidays, premiums are paid on top of the basic wage and are stated in contracts of employment or standard or company agreements. These premiums may not exceed 50 percent of the normal pay per hour. They are tax-free as long as they are less than € 50.00 per hour. Premiums are usually exempt from social insurance unless they exceed € 25.00 per working hour.

Tips, Checklist

• Despite working on Sundays and public holidays, at least 15 Sundays per year must be taken off. Tariff contracts can reduce this number
• Working on a Sunday is compensated by one free working day within 2 weeks; in the case of public holidays: within 8 weeks
• The social partners – the representatives of the employees and employers – fundamentally have scope for the arrangements concerning Sunday work. Inform yourself about what regulations apply to you
• The announcement, application and authorization of Sunday work must be obtained from the trade supervisory centres or supervisory authorities. They are also responsible for the monitoring of Sunday and public holiday rest in the scope of the Labour Protection Act

Last update: 07/15/2010