Minus hours

Minus hours occur when an employee works fewer hours than stipulated in the employment contract, collective agreement or works agreement. This means that minus hours always occur when the actual number of hours worked falls short of the contractually agreed number of hours. In contrast to plus hours or overtime, where the employee works more than agreed, minus hours therefore mean that the agreed target working hours have not been met. The resulting difference is recorded in a working time account.

Minus hours in the working time account

Minus hours in the working time account represent a kind of "debt" to the employer. These hours usually have to be compensated by additional working hours, which may mean that employees have to work more in the future to make up for the minus hours in their working time account.

Minus hours in labor law

There is no generally applicable regulation on minus hours in employment law. The legal framework generally depends on the individual agreements in the employment contract, collective agreements or works agreements. For example, minus hours may only be recorded in the working time account if employees are obliged to make up for them. This may be the case, for example, if employees work irregular hours or decide on their own working hours. In such situations, employers grant employees a kind of advance payment, which means that the working hours must be made up later. If there is no provision in the employment or collective agreements for recording minus hours, working too few hours can be interpreted as a breach of contractual obligations.

However, if the order situation does not allow the full number of working hours to be completed and managers decide to send their employees home, these minus hours are caused by operational reasons. Section 615 of the German Civil Code (BGB) applies here, which stipulates that employers are obliged to compensate their employees in full for any minus hours ordered. Without an express agreement, minus hours in the working time account are therefore not legally valid.

Minus hours on termination

Minus hours only count in the event of dismissal if certain conditions are met. Firstly, the employee and employer must have agreed to set up a working time account to record working hours and the employee must have agreed to this arrangement. In addition, there should be a contractual agreement on the reduction of minus hours and these hours must have been caused by the employee themselves. Minus hours that are due to operational reasons - for example, due to an order for further training, early closures due to a lack of customers or a lack of orders - may not be taken into account in the event of dismissal. The German Civil Code makes it clear that employers are not permitted to offset minus hours that they have caused. In the event of dismissal, whether by the employee or the employer, the negative hours for which the employee is responsible must be compensated, provided that these can be verified via a working time account. If compensation is not possible during the notice period because the employee has been released from work or the order situation does not allow it, the employer can offset the minus hours against the last salary. In any case, it is important that employees check in advance how many minus hours have actually been accumulated and whether these are self-inflicted, as the employer may not deduct minus hours without prior agreement. In addition, it is expressly forbidden to offset minus hours against remaining vacation in the event of termination; employees have the right to take their remaining vacation regardless of the accumulated minus hours.