In the dispute over night work bonuses in the German food and beverage industry, which has been smoldering for years, a first fundamental judgment has been made. The Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled on Wednesday in a case involving the beverage company Coca-Cola in East Germany that collective agreements can provide for different amounts of night surcharges. According to experts, the BAG decision has a signal effect for around 6,000 complaints about night work supplements at the labor courts. It is about different collective agreements for tens of thousands of employees. The case under discussion in Brandenburg dealt with the question of whether a supplement of 50 percent can be paid for occasional night work, but only 20 percent for regular night shift work. There is no legal objection to this, said the presiding judge, Waldemar Reinfelder, when the verdict was pronounced. However, unequal treatment requires a factual reason “which must be recognizable from the collective agreement”. That is the case in the Coca-Cola case. In addition to health protection, the parties to the collective agreement could pursue other purposes. It is up to them how they compensate for the poorer predictability of occasional night work.
Fundamental verdict – different night surcharges are legal – economy
