2 min.
19. September 2024
The Federal Labor Court has made a new decision on the subject of working hours. It has determined that in certain cases the employer must compensate employees for showering times. Ecovis lawyer and specialist in labor law Gunnar Roloff from Rostock explains the background to the decision.
It is not always clear what counts as working time. The case law on this is not uniform. It always depends on the individual case.
The case
The Federal Labor Court (BAG) had to decide on an employee’s claim for payment totaling more than 25,000 euros. It assumed that he should be paid an additional 55 minutes per working day for changing, cleaning and travel time. The plaintiff worked as a full-time container mechanic. His job was to put containers in order. This also included sanding down rusty and damaged areas and repainting them accordingly.
“The plaintiff was only partially successful in the courts,” explains Ecovis lawyer Gunnar Roloff in Rostock. Neither the labor court nor the Nuremberg regional labor court awarded the plaintiff even 2,500 euros.
The decision
The BAG decided in its judgment of 23 April 2024 (5 AZR 212/23) that times for cleaning the body are part of the working time that is subject to remuneration. This applies if the employee becomes so dirty while performing the work that it is unreasonable to expect him to put on his private clothes, leave the company and go home without first cleaning his body. “It also determined that travel time from the changing room to the workplace is working time that is subject to remuneration,” says Roloff. The BAG was unable to make a final decision on the extent to which working hours are to be remunerated and has therefore referred the matter back to the State Labor Court for a new hearing and decision.
What employers should know
“What employers are to pay for as working time must always be examined on a case-by-case basis,” Roloff summarizes. In its decision, the BAG based its decision on the fact that those activities that are directly related to the actual activity or the manner in which they are to be performed and therefore serve exclusively to satisfy the needs of others are to be paid for as working time. “The activity must therefore not also be in the interests of the employees,” explains Roloff.
