Electrician was not paid 258 hours of overtime

A man from the Linz-Land district worked for a company as an electrician for a good ten months. When he left the company, he found that he was not being paid for his overtime hours – 258 hours according to his timesheets. In addition, the 27-year-old was only paid as an employee “with specific training”, although he had completed an apprenticeship as an industrial electrician. That means: Due to the wrong classification, he received too little wages the whole time.

First payment was too small

The man sought advice from the Chamber of Labour, which asked his employer to meet the payment obligations. An amount was then transferred to the electrician, which, however, was too low, as it turned out after an inspection. Since the employer refused to transfer the outstanding amount despite repeated requests from the Chamber of Labour, the Chamber of Labor filed a complaint with the responsible labor and social court. With success: the electrician was paid almost 15,500 euros in arrears.

“The success of the Chamber of Labor for employees is proof that it is worth seeking legal advice and advice from one of the 14 AK district offices,” says AK President Andreas Stangl. “The case from the Linz-Land district clearly shows how important it is to keep personal records of working hours,” emphasizes Stangl.