Being right and enforcing rights are two different pairs of boots. The first step is to know your rights. You can find an overview of your labour rights here. Your employer is obliged to comply with these laws. Unfortunately, they are violated again and again in the hospitality industry.
The second step is to enforce your own rights if they are not respected by your employer. For this, you have to prove that your employer (has) violated your rights. It is therefore very important that you document your work. Standing up for your own rights is not always easy: there are various hurdles, such as time, money, knowledge, and dependence on your wage labour, which make it difficult to enforce your rights.
You can always seek support from suitable (free)
advice centres! You can contact your
works council and your
trade union. You can also sue for your rights before an industrial tribunal. Here, too, your trade union can offer you support.
Here you will find an overview of counselling centres for labour law:
Food and Catering Union (NGG)
Gastro-Hotline of the NGG
Faire Mobilität [Fair mobility]
Arbeit und Leben [Work and life]
Berlin Counselling Centre for Migration and Good Work (BEMA)
To the contact
Faire Integration [Fair integration]
Faire Mobilität [Fair mobility]
Citizens' hotline of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
Minijobzentrale
Employment Agency:
To the contact:
Supervisory authority for occupational health and safety, maternity protection, and protection against dismissal
Integration Office:
Labour Court:
Other advice centres
Always document your work. Even if everything is going well in your working relationship, documenting your work is an important testimony for yourself and an important piece of evidence in case of conflict.
Here you will find all the templates that ArbeitGestalten offers on this website:
Write down weekly:
So, you record your:
Here you will find a detailed working time calendar. Keep all documents that you receive from your employer or that you provide to your employer.
Your employer is obliged to document different areas of your work as well. For example, your employer must document your working hours if you work in a mini-job or in the hospitality industry in general. Your employer must also always record your overtime. Employers often use rosters for documentation. So, make sure that your duty roster is always up to date and that the hours you have actually worked are recorded. Furthermore, your employer must send you your contract and working conditions in writing, as well as your social security registration certificate. Here is a list of documents that your employer must provide you with:
Keep all the supporting documents that you receive from your employer. File them neatly and preferably digitise them (for example scan/photograph them).
Make sure you keep the following documents and file them properly:
If your employer hands you documents, and wants you to sign them, always take the time to read them through first. Only sign a document if you understand everything! This applies, for example, to employment contracts, termination agreements, blank forms or pay slips.
Do not let your employer put you under pressure. You are not obliged to sign a document immediately. You can take it home and read it at your leisure. You can also get support and advice! If your employer forces you to sign a document immediately, be extra vigilant and seek support immediately. Do not be intimidated!
A works council in a company/enterprise is an elected body that represents the employees and their rights and works to achieve them. For example, the works council has a say in decisions on working hours, duty rosters and the recruitment of employees, and the employer cannot decide alone.
In general, works councils have extensive co-determination rights in the workplace. This is regulated in the German Works Constitution Act. Through the works council, employees are able to help shape the working conditions in their company.
Works councils represent the interests of the employees and are also the contact persons for the employees in case of conflicts with the management. Works council members have special protection against dismissal and therefore do not have to fear losing their jobs as a result of their work on the works council.
In companies with five or more employees, the workforce has the right to elect a works council. The works council consists of one or more members, depending on the number of employees.
Works councillors represent the interests of workers and do this in addition to their paid work. However, they are allowed to interrupt their working hours to carry out works council work and the employer may not treat them differently or less favourably for doing so. Only in companies with more than 200 employees are works councillors released from their paid work in order to carry out works council work.
Out of approximately 230,000 companies in the hospitality industry in Germany, only about 900 have a works council.
§ 1 Abs. 1 Errichtung von Betriebsräten Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
In Betrieben mit in der Regel mindestens fünf ständigen wahlberechtigten Arbeitnehmern, von denen drei wählbar sind, werden Betriebsräte gewählt. […]
§ 9 Zahl der Betriebsratsmitglieder Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
Der Betriebsrat besteht in Betrieben mit in der Regel 5 bis 20 wahlberechtigten Arbeitnehmern aus einer Person […].
§ 8 Abs. 1 Wählbarkeit Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
Wählbar sind alle Wahlberechtigten, die das 18. Lebensjahr vollendet haben und sechs Monate dem Betrieb angehören oder als in Heimarbeit Beschäftigte in der Hauptsache für den Betrieb gearbeitet haben. […]
All employees of a company who are at least 16 years old are entitled to vote in works council elections, including mini-jobbers and part-time employees. All employees who are at least 18 years old and have been working in the company for more than six months can be elected to the works council.
§ 7 Wahlberechtigung Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
Wahlberechtigt sind alle Arbeitnehmer des Betriebs, die das 16. Lebensjahr vollendet haben.
In general, works councils have extensive co-determination rights in the workplace. This is regulated in the Works Constitution Act. Through the works council, employees are able to help shape the working conditions in their company.
Good work is fair, social, and safe. This also includes that a works council should be elected in every company with five or more employees so that the employees can have a say in their working conditions. The works council may in particular have a say in
§ 99 Abs. 1 Mitbestimmung bei personellen Einzelmaßnahmen Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
In Unternehmen mit in der Regel mehr als zwanzig wahlberechtigten Arbeitnehmern hat der Arbeitgeber den Betriebsrat vor jeder Einstellung, Eingruppierung, Umgruppierung und Versetzung zu unterrichten, ihm die erforderlichen Bewerbungsunterlagen vorzulegen und Auskunft über die Person der Beteiligten zu geben. […]
§ 87 Abs. 1 Mitbestimmungsrechte Betriebsverfassungsgesetz
Der Betriebsrat hat, soweit eine gesetzliche oder tarifliche Regelung nicht besteht, in folgenden Angelegenheiten mitzubestimmen:
The project "Strengthening Workplace Representation in Berlin Companies" supports works councils in Berlin companies with fewer than 200 employees. It offers free workshops, training, and legal advice for works councils. The project is funded by the Senate Department for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs.
Trade unions negotiate collective agreements with employers or employers' associations. Trade unions represent their members in collective bargaining. (see Wages: 1. Am I entitled to the collectively agreed wage?)
The members are employees. There are eight major trade unions in Germany representing workers in specific sectors.
Workers who are members of a trade union are entitled to the collectively agreed wage. Trade unions also support their members in case of problems with employers and offer legal protection in labour and social law. Furthermore, trade unions offer advice on labour law, further training and qualification measures and support in setting up a works council (see Consultations: 11. When can I set up a works council?).
The Food and Catering Union (NGG) represents workers in the hospitality industry. One in ten workers in the hospitality industry is unionised.
Here is a video that briefly explains what a trade union is: What is a trade union?
Here you will find an overview of trade unions in Germany that are organised in the umbrella organisation Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB).
There is a fee for union membership. It costs about one per cent of your monthly wage. Trade unions use membership fees to fund their staff, who provide free advice and support to members. It also funds strikes and lawyers who provide free legal protection for members.
At the NGG, for example, you can expect the following benefits:
Here you will find all the advantages at a glance.
No, you do not have to tell your employer if you are a member of a trade union. If your employer asks you, you have the right to lie, for example in a job interview.
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