Approximately every fourth hour of overtime in the previous year was compensated neither with money nor with time off. According to the Labor Chamber (AK), this is significantly more than in previous years. One reason is that the employees have not reported all overtime.
They would have been afraid that otherwise they would get into trouble with the company. “This is systematic wage fraud that cost employees a total of 1.2 billion euros last year,” said Ines Stilling, head of the social department of the AK. According to Statistics Austria, in the previous year about every fourth hour of overtime was paid, neither with money nor with time off. That’s a total of 47 million hours of overtime and overtime.
Overtime may expire
In addition to workers’ concerns, the Labor Chamber also blames corporate culture for the situation. In times of home office and mobile communication channels, services were sometimes needed outside the agreed working hours. In addition, there are all-in contracts where overtime can expire after a certain time.
The Labor Chamber advises in a broadcast to regularly keep an up-to-date work administration, which does not have to be confirmed. However, defending yourself can still be difficult when you’re employed, says Martin Gruber-Risak, a professor at the Institute of Labor and Social Law at the University of Vienna. 90 percent of the proceedings before the labor and social courts are for terminated employment relationships. Employees must defend themselves in advance against overtime. A right of non-availability would also be necessary to guarantee quiet times.
Measure against staff shortage?
As expected, the Economic Chamber (WKÖ) rejected the criticism. Employees would voluntarily work overtime, especially younger people, if the terms and conditions are right. A tax exemption for overtime would even be an “appropriate remedy against the shortage of labour”.
The AK in turn demands that employers pay one euro for each overtime hour worked. Unpaid extra hours and overtime would exacerbate the staff shortage.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
