Employees must view roster in their free time
An emergency paramedic is only informed of the exact start of his shift the day before. But do they also have to take note of this information on a day off? The Federal Labor Court has now ruled on a corresponding complaint.
Employees may also have to take note of roster instructions for the following day in their free time, for example by text message. According to a ruling by the Federal Labour Court (B AG) in Erfurt, this is the case if the employee knows, based on company regulations, that their shift will be specified.
The BAG thus dismissed the complaint of an emergency paramedic from Schleswig-Holstein. The employer's duty rosters also included stand-in duties. According to a company agreement, these were planned for the long term and, if necessary, assigned with a binding lead time of four days. According to the works agreement, the employer had to notify the specific working hours by 8 p.m. at the latest on the day before the assignment.
Employer was in the right
For the plaintiff emergency paramedic, such a stand-in day was scheduled after a day off. His employer sent him an email and a text message at around 1.30 p.m. informing him that his shift would start at 6 a.m. the next day. The paramedic did not respond and could not be reached by phone. His employer therefore did not deploy him. On another stand-in day, the paramedic did not respond until the same morning and then arrived two hours late. The employer deducted the missed day and the two hours from his working time credit. The emergency paramedic filed a complaint against this, arguing that he was not obliged to pay attention to duty time instructions during his free time.
The BAG now disagreed. The emergency paramedic had been aware that he had to expect a work assignment. He had also known that the employer would communicate the specific times the day before. The employer had complied with the relevant provisions of the works agreement.
In such a situation, it is part of the employee's secondary contractual obligations to take note of the information. His free time is only insignificantly affected by this, which is why reading the corresponding message does not count as working time. "The rest period is not interrupted by taking note," the Erfurt ruling states. The plaintiff is therefore free to choose when he reads the instruction on working time.
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- In a similar case, an advisor from Schleswig-Holstein brought a complaint to the Federal Labor Court regarding his employer's duty roster that required him to take note of his shifts during his free time.
- The Federal Labor Court (BAG) in Erfurt, ruling on this complaint, upheld the employer's right to require the advisor to take note of his shifts, citing a company agreement that outlined long-term stand-in duties with a binding lead time of four days.
- The BAG also stated that, according to labor law, the advisor's free time was only marginally affected by this requirement, and reading the corresponding message did not count as working time.
Source: www.ntv.de
