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Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention, 1991 (No. 172) - Germany (RATIFICATION: 2006)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 31 August 2018, as well as the observations of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) received on 28 August 2018. The Government is requested to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 3 of the Convention. Adoption of a national policy. The Government indicates that, as of 1 January 2017, the general statutory minimum wage has been fixed at €8.84 per hour. Moreover, the Minimum Wage Act imposes on employers a number of obligations, including cooperation, documentation and reporting requirements, including in the hospitality and hotel industry. The Government adds that application of the general statutory minimum wage to the hospitality and hotel industry may contribute to improvements in working conditions for workers in the sector. In its observations, with which the IOE concurs, the BDA expresses the view that the labour law, which applies to employees in the catering sector, fully meet the requirements of the Convention. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of establishing a national policy with the objective of improving the working conditions of workers employed in hotels and restaurants, noting that the Government does not provide information concerning the existence of a national policy as required by the Convention. The Committee therefore reiterates its request that the Government provide detailed information on the measures taken to adopt a national policy designed to improve the working conditions of those employed in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments covered by the Convention.

Article 4. Hours of work. In its 2014 direct request, the Committee noted that, pursuant to section 7 of the Working Hours Act, the parties to collective agreements have, under certain circumstances, the option of agreeing terms that deviate from the terms of the Act. It requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of these provisions to workers employed in hotels and restaurants, including information on pay for overtime hours and the number of additional hours performed on average in the sector. In its report, the Government indicates that an option of particular relevance to the sector is the possibility of extending for up to one year – by collective agreement – the period of time within which compensatory time off must be given for overtime hours worked. The Government indicates that it has no data on the number of enterprises in which this option is applied. The Committee notes the data provided from the Institute for Employment Research, indicating that, in the first quarter of 2018, the average number of hours worked per worker in the hospitality industry totalled about 270, with an overall total of about 426 million hours worked by all workers in the sector. During the same period, 8.4 hours of overtime were worked per worker on average, with a total of 13.3 million overtime hours worked by all workers in the sector. The Committee notes that the share of paid hours of overtime to total hours of overtime was less than half during the relevant period: 45.7 per cent. In addition, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that overtime hours are compensated at the worker’s normal hourly wage or in paid time off. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistical information on compensation for overtime hours worked in establishments covered under the Convention, as well as on the number of additional hours performed on average. It further requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to ensure that overtime hours performed by workers in the sector are compensated by time off with pay by a higher rate or rates of remuneration for the overtime worked, or by a higher rate of remuneration, as determined in accordance with national law and practice, and after consultations between the employer and the workers concerned, or their representative, as indicated by the Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Recommendation, 1991 (No. 179), paragraph 7(3).