Collective agreements with lower wages in the temporary work sector do not contradict applicable EU law. This was decided by the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt. A temporary worker complained that the principle of equality had been violated.
The Federal Labor Court in Erfurt has confirmed the common collective bargaining practice in temporary work with lower wages compared to the permanent workforce. The Fifth Senate justified its decision by saying that the applicable collective agreements in temporary work do not contradict EU law.
A temporary employee from Bavaria was thus defeated in the third instance with her claim. Effective regulations had been made in order to be able to deviate from the principle of equality.
ECJ strengthens rights of temporary workers
The European Court of Justice ruled last December that temporary workers can only be paid less if this unequal treatment is compensated for in the collective agreement – for example through additional free time.
According to the highest German labor judges, such a compensation is the legal right to continued payment of wages during non-hire periods. The remuneration in non-operational times is set by the state, so the compensation does not have to be provided by the collective agreement.
The union side regretted the judge’s verdict. “We did not succeed in enforcing the principle of equal treatment,” said Rudolf Buschmann from DGB legal protection, which represented the plaintiff in Erfurt.
File number Federal Labor Court 5 AZR 143/19