Working hours: Nahles plans right to temporary part – TIME ONLINE

workers in Germany are to receive the right to shorten their working hours on a temporary basis. The draft law, Minister of labour Andrea Nahles (SPD), which is currently being coordinated between the departments of the Federal government.

“the aim of the draft law is the introduction of a right to temporary part-time work in part – time and temporary employment law”, – quotes the German press Agency from the draft. For Employees who want to temporally reduce limited their working hours, will ensure that you can return to the part-time phase, back to the original working hours.

so Far, there is only one claim on a time-unlimited part-time work. With the right to return to full-time Union and SPD to put a Detail from the coalition agreement.

The right to part-time work with a time limit is tied to a number of conditions:

• The employer must have more than 15 Employees.
  
• The employment relationship must have existed more than six months.
• Employees will need to apply for the limited part-time for at least three months in advance. After returning to the original working time, you should be able to re-reduction of working hours at the earliest after one year of the request.
• The draft also stipulates that the employer must discuss it with his employees, if they wish to Change their working hours – regardless of the size of operation.
  

in addition, to facilitate workers in the unlimited part-time the extension of their working hours. Already today, they are to be considered in filling vacancies to be preferred.

According to applicable law, part-time employees had to prove that a suitable post is available and that they are suitable. “Here is a burden of proof shift to the employer,” says the draft. The business must then explain the Lack of a job or has a lower Suitability.

Nahles had submitted in November to the white paper, 4.0 and the bill for a right to return full-time to be announced. The employer and the employee should be able to agree on this, also a sample of the variants to the normal eight-hour working day, for example, with breaks for child care, the home office in the evening, or a working end and the beginning of beyond statutory rules.

Regardless of the specific design for part-time employers warned to rigid specifications. “A country that wants to play tomorrow, economically and socially in the Champions League, must not cling to working-time rules from the last century,” said the employers ‘ President Ingo Kramer. “We want to and need to take advantage of the opportunities of digitisation, instead of preventing you,” he said. “The means for the working time and the workplace: Let’s trust more.”

the chief of The German trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, stressed: “We need clear reference points – the periods of rest and the eight-hour day will remain important limits that must not be under – or exceeded.” Hoffmann said: “It is a merit of Andrea Nahles, the question of how work in the future can be designed to be put on the agenda.”