As of: April 8, 2024, 5:14 a.m
By: Anne Hund
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Many employees often do small tasks after work or quickly answer a question from work colleagues.
The time off from work should be used for relaxation. But sometimes it happens that employees feel obliged to be available for work even in their free time. Be it because the superior has a query and writes a WhatsApp message after work, or because employees want to answer an email at the end of the day rather than the next day. What is the legal situation?
Many employees look forward to the end of the day after work. But what if, for example, your supervisor has a question after work? (Symbolic image) © Zoonar.com/Yuri Arcurs peoplemages.com/Imago
In Germany, the legal regulation regarding accessibility during free time, especially after work and on weekends, is “not explicitly” stipulated in the Working Hours Act, as stated in an article on the job portal
Stepstone
. However, there is the principle of “insignificant activity”, according to which minor professional activities outside of regular working hours are not considered working hours. “This means that short calls or emails outside of working hours are usually not counted as working hours as long as they do not result in the employee no longer being able to freely organize their free time,” writes the job portal. “However, it is important to note that constant availability outside of working hours can lead to a violation of working time regulations and to stress that affects the health and well-being of the employee.”
Therefore – the experts advise in the article – it is advisable to make clear agreements between employers and employees to set expectations regarding availability outside of working hours. Some companies have company agreements or employment contracts that regulate availability outside of working hours, for example by specifying rest times or the possibility of compensating times of availability as overtime. Employees should find out about the relevant regulations in the employment contract or the applicable collective agreements and, if necessary, speak to the employer in order to make clear agreements, the job portal advises.
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What is the situation with managers? For employees with special responsibility - such as managers - there may be a contractual additional obligation to be reachable outside of traditional working hours, as the German Press Agency describes the legal situation. Managers also often have trust-based working hours.