As of: February 13, 2024, 4:51 a.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
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The employment contract lists the rights and obligations of the employee.
This includes, among other things, your performance.
When you can still refuse to work.
What exactly your tasks include is set out in your employment contract, for example.
Therefore, you must check it carefully before signing.
There are five points you should negotiate with your potential employer.
Once the signature has been signed, the framework conditions for your employment are set.
However, as an employee, you also have the right to refuse to work.
Below you will find out what requirements must be met.
What exactly is meant by refusal to work?
Employees have rights and responsibilities - in which cases work can be legally refused.
© Yay Images/Imago
Refusal to work involves the deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations.
“Deliberately refusing to follow instructions from the employer” can also fall under the term, the
Hopkins Law Firm
informs on its website.
In this context, steps under labor law such as a warning or termination are possible.
However, there are also cases in which employees are legally allowed to refuse benefits.
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Reasons for refusal of performance by the employee
On his own website, the
lawyer Hans-Georg Rumke
distinguishes between three different categories when employees can refuse services.
The employer is violating a protective law.
The employer is violating the Works Constitution Act.
The work performance is unreasonable.
In concrete terms, this means that employees can withhold their performance if safety in the workplace is at risk and the employer does nothing to stop it.
In this context, the
Hensche lawyers
mention, for example, a room contaminated with asbestos and the employer does not provide any other workplace.
Furthermore, employees can refuse to work if they are (sexually) harassed by work colleagues within the meaning of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) and the employer takes no or only inadequate measures.
The AGG includes, among other things...
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intimidation,
humiliations,
hostilities,
indignities and
Insults.
that are committed for reasons of “racial or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity,” the
Hensche lawyers
inform .
A violation of a protective law can also occur if the employer violates the duty of care, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, informs Hans-Georg Rumke, a specialist lawyer for labor law.
When is work unreasonable?
Unreasonable working conditions may exist if the employee comes into contact with substances that are hazardous to health while carrying out work.
But defamatory statements or activities can also be a reason why employees can make use of the right to refuse performance.
Employees can also withhold work if the employer defaults on the payment of wages.
However, you should be careful because as an employee you always pay in advance with the work.
Other reasons for refusing to work
Lawful strike
Infection by dangerous diseases
Unauthorized overtime
Unsafe work equipment
Dangerous place of work
Missing work equipment that must be provided by the employer
If you are considering whether you are legally allowed to refuse to perform your work, it makes sense that you seek legal advice to protect yourself from a warning or termination.
If you are in a union, you can also find out more there.