Part-time employees entitled to proportionally reduced overtime bonus thresholds

Collective agreement provisions stipulating a uniform threshold for overtime bonuses may violate the prohibition on discrimination against part-time employees under Section 4(1) of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG). Given the reference to EU law in Section 4(1) TzBfG, the collective bargaining parties do not have primary corrective authority.

Facts of the Case

The employee worked as a commercial clerk with a contractually agreed weekly working time of 27 hours. Under the applicable framework collective agreement (MTV) for retail and mail order companies in Lower Saxony, overtime pay is only granted for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. This rule applied uniformly to both full-time and part-time employees. The employee demanded overtime bonuses for hours worked beyond her contractually agreed working time. Considering the collective agreement provision discriminatory against part-time employees, she brought legal action.

The Decision

The Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled in favour of the plaintiff, granting her overtime pay for the hours worked. The court found that Section 5(1) sentence 5 MTV violated Section 4(1) TzBfG and was therefore partially invalid. The uniform 40-hour weekly threshold for overtime bonuses set out in the agreement discriminates against part-time employees compared to comparable full-time employees.

The court reasoned that part-time employees were disadvantaged because the relevant working time threshold was not reduced proportionally to reflect their working hours. The Federal Labour Court did not consider this unequal treatment to be objectively justified. In particular, health protection concerns did not justify the disparity. The uniform threshold failed to account for the particular burden that overtime can typically place on part-time workers.

The court also rejected any primary corrective authority on the part of the collective bargaining parties, as is often assumed in cases involving invalid collective agreement provisions. Unlike violations of Article 3(1) of the Basic Law (GG), collective bargaining parties have no primary corrective power in cases involving violations of the EU law-based prohibition on discrimination under Section 4(1) TzBfG (see also the article "Immediate Entitlement for Employees - No primary corrective authority for Collective Bargaining Parties" applying similar reasoning).

Practical Implications

This ruling has significant implications for companies and collective bargaining practices. It aligns with recent BAG case law on the equal treatment of part-time employees and confirms that unequal treatment under collective agreements is subject to strict scrutiny against the EU law prohibition on discrimination.

Practical Tip

In addition to reviewing existing collective agreement provisions on overtime bonuses, employers should remain alert to potential retroactive claims from part-time employees and set aside appropriate reserves.