Latest news on the minimum wage
In its current case law, the Federal Labor Court has clarified two practically important aspects of the statutory minimum wage that were previously extremely controversial.
First of all, in its ruling of May 25, 2016 (ref. 5 AZR 135/16), the Federal Labor Court addressed the question of the extent to which annual special payments (holiday pay/Christmas bonus) meet the statutory minimum wage requirement. The Federal Labor Court then ruled on June 29, 2016 (ref.: 5 AZR 716/15) as to whether the statutory minimum wage must also be paid for on-call work.
First of all, the aspect of annual special payments (holiday pay/Christmas bonus). Here, the Federal Labor Court took the view that the annual special payments (holiday pay/Christmas bonus), like the basic salary, would meet the statutory minimum wage requirement. As a result, the plaintiff in the proceedings there was no longer able to demand additional payments. However, the case had a special feature: the employer had concluded a works agreement with the works council, according to which vacation pay and Christmas bonus were paid out monthly at 1/12 each. It is still unclear whether vacation pay and Christmas bonuses can be counted towards the statutory minimum wage entitlement even if these special payments are only paid once per calendar year. This is still controversial in the labor law literature.
An important further requirement for the crediting of holiday pay and Christmas bonuses towards the statutory minimum wage entitlement was also met in the case on which the judgment was based: holiday pay and Christmas bonuses were irrevocably and unconditionally promised by the employer. So there was again a reservation of revocation and a reservation of voluntariness. This is important because only those payments from the employer that ultimately remain with the employee can meet the minimum wage entitlement.
In addition, the Federal Labor Court also clarified the question of the extent to which surcharges should be counted towards the minimum wage entitlement. This is basically the case. An exception only applies if the surcharges serve a special statutory purpose, such as the night surcharge in accordance with Section 6 Paragraph 5 of the Working Hours Act. In the case decided, supplements for overtime, Sunday work and public holiday work had to be counted towards the minimum wage entitlement.
Then to the question of whether the minimum wage must also be paid for on-call services. According to the Federal Labor Court, this results from the definition of work subject to remuneration. This also includes (as has now been clarified) the on-call service, i.e. the service during which the employee must be available at a location specified by the employer inside or outside the company in order to start work if necessary. The statutory minimum wage must also be paid for on-call duty as a special type of work requiring remuneration. In the present case, however, the plaintiff could not claim any further payments because the statutory minimum wage entitlement had already been met, even when the on-call service was added to the working hours subject to remuneration.
Links to the press releases from the Federal Labor Court:
