As the end of a fixed-term employment relationship approaches, employees often have numerous appointments to make. After all, they have to look for a new job and have to have discussions with the employment office or job interviews. But when is the time for this if employees have to continue working? Does your employer have to give you time off to look for a job?
Yes. As Johannes Schipp, a specialist lawyer for labor law in Gütersloh, explains, the prevailing opinion is that the right to time off to look for a job when an employment contract expires arises from paragraph 629 in the Civil Code. This is regardless of whether employees have received notice of termination from their employer or whether their contract ends.
It specifically states that the employer must grant employees free time to look for a job during the notice period. The right to time off applies not only to a specific job interview, but also to appointments at the employment agency or a job placement agency.
How many interviews are allowed?
“The right to payment of remuneration during this time can also be found in a very general regulation in the law,” explains the specialist lawyer. According to him, paragraph 616 of the Civil Code states that employees are released with continued payment of wages if they are temporarily prevented from carrying out their duties through no fault of their own. “This also applies to opportunities such as job interviews when looking for a job.”
It is not possible to say in general terms how often the employer has to agree to time off work for such appointments. According to Schipp, in the case of a temporary employment relationship that exists over a long period of time, it is also conceivable that the employer has to accept “five interviews in one week.”
About the person: Johannes Schipp is a specialist lawyer for labor law, a member of the German Bar Association (DAV) and was chairman of the executive committee of the labor law working group in the DAV until August 2021.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240304-99-208492/2
2024-03-04 01:31:43
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