Federal Constitutional Court: Employer with complaints on nights successful

In the dispute over tariff night surcharges at shift work, two companies in the Federal Constitutional Court have achieved success. With constitutional complaints against two judgments by the Federal Labor Court (BAG), they had turned to Karlsruhe. The court had sentenced them to pay more than the tariffs agreed. The first Senate in Karlsruhe now picked up the judgments and referred the things back to the BAG. (Az. 1 BvR 1109/21 and 1 BvR 1422/23)

According to the collective agreements concerned, night slide workers receive a surcharge of 25 percent for night work, while night workers are entitled to a surcharge of 50 percent. In contrast, two employees affected had sued – initially with success.

The BAG decided that the surcharge regulations for regular night shift work were not compatible in view of the higher surcharge remuneration for irregular night work with the right to equality. The supplements of the night shifts would have to be adapted “upwards”. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe now gave the constitutional complaints of the employer.

According to the Federal Constitutional Court, the judgments from Erfurt cannot stop. The BAG did not adequately take into account the importance of tariff autonomy. This law, which is anchored in the Basic Law, allows unions and employers or employers’ associations to independently regulate contracts between their members without state influence.

The fundamental right of freedom of coalition is not guaranteed, the Karlsruhe Senate emphasized. The limits of tariff autonomy also include the fundamental binding of the contracting parties to the general equality rate in the Basic Law when agreed. After all, the members of the coalitions often have no direct influence on the result of the collective bargaining and are dependent on the fact that their interests are adequately represented.

In principle, however, an autonomous negotiation of tariff regulations must be possible, according to the Federal Constitutional Court. The remuneration of night work is in the core area of ​​the design competence of the parties to the collective agreement. The collective agreements concerned caused an unequal treatment between night workers and night shift workers. However, since the courts are only entitled to arbitrary control here, this cannot be objected to here.