Shift plan - announcement, deadlines and labor law
When creating a shift schedule, there are several guidelines that need to be followed. Unfortunately, this process often leads to avoidable conflicts and misunderstandings between employers and employees. Here, you will find all the essential information you need to know.
When creating a shift schedule, certain guidelines must be followed. However, this process often leads to unnecessary frustrations and disputes between employers and employees. A common question that arises is: When must a shift schedule be available? And what is the required posting period for a shift plan? This guide will address the most important questions about duty schedules and deadlines.
Notice periods for shift schedules – a legal gray area in employment law
When Should a Work Schedule Be Available?
The short answer: There are no legally defined regulations regarding this. Consequently, it's up to the employer to decide when to inform employees about their work schedules, which often leads to uncertainties for both planners and employees. However, a common rule of thumb has proven effective in many cases:
A work schedule should be posted about half the time before it takes effect.
Here’s an example to clarify what this means: If a shift schedule in a company sets the working hours for a month, say from April 1st to April 30th, when should the schedule be made available? Ideally, it should be posted two weeks in advance, which in this case would be around March 15th.
How Much Notice is Required for Short-Term Changes?
The situation is different when it comes to short-term changes or on-call work: Employers must notify employees at least four days before the work is scheduled to begin. If they fail to do so, the employee has the right to refuse the work. Important to note: This notice period also applies to overtime, which must be announced at least four days in advance according to the law.
Cancelling a confirmed work shift on short notice is also not permitted. However, there is an exception: if the work can no longer be performed due to operational necessity, such as a machine breakdown that cannot be repaired. This is regulated under Section 12, Paragraph 2 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act.
However, companies have numerous options for setting the notice period for work schedules:
1. Shift Schedules and Posting Periods According to Collective Agreements
In many businesses and companies where shift work is common, employees are often covered by collective agreements. These agreements typically stipulate how many days in advance a work schedule must be made available. It is also important for workforce planners to ensure that the works council approves the shift schedule.
2. Shift Schedule Regulations in Employment Contracts
Shift schedule deadlines can also be specified in employment contracts. Many employees, particularly parents, prefer to plan their time in advance and may therefore insist on this level of planning certainty. If a company has already established works agreements and includes relevant clauses in an employment contract, the contract clauses will apply. However, the works council must agree if the company plans to deviate from the established works agreements.
3. Company Regulations for Shift Schedule Posting Periods
It is ideal when company regulations clearly define how far in advance a shift schedule must be finalized. Often, it is useful to designate a specific day each month (for monthly schedules) or each week (for weekly schedules) for posting the schedule. Such regulations are easy to implement and offer benefits for both workforce planners and employees:
- Planning Certainty
Employees know exactly when to expect a new shift schedule, providing them with a sense of security. - Deadlines Provide Structure
Workforce planners have a fixed deadline by which they must release the new shift schedule. While this may create some time pressure, it also promotes greater organization and reliability through a regular structure. - Consistency and Reliability
Consistency and planning certainty contribute to a more relaxed work environment, as neither planners nor employees need to worry about when the next shift schedule will be announced.
It is important to note that any regulations from a collective agreement remain valid despite company-specific agreements, even if those agreements benefit certain employees. Of course, shift schedules can be posted earlier than the agreed-upon time—better early than late. However, planners must keep the following in mind: if collective agreements are in place, the works council must first approve the shift schedule. The schedule can then only be posted on a provisional basis until final approval is received.
Since personal data is required for a work schedule, data protection naturally applies here as well. A shift schedule should not simply be posted for everyone to see, and it should certainly not be photographed and shared, for example, via messenger—something that often happens in smaller businesses. However, in larger businesses, there can also be problematic interactions between work schedules and data protection. For example, if there is an Excel document that all employees can access and thus view the personal data of others, data protection is violated. Therefore, a shift schedule is a document containing confidential personal data and should be treated as such.
• Never post shift schedules publicly • Do not send photos of shift schedules to your employees • Limit employee access to shift schedule files, such as through an intranet • Ensure that each employee can only view their own data A scheduling software can assist in creating a data protection-compliant shift schedule. This is particularly beneficial for larger companies, as smart solutions consider laws and legal requirements when creating shift schedules, helping them stay on the safe side.
Regarding data protection, the law is clear on work schedules: not every employee is entitled to view the entire shift schedule. Similarly, every employee has the right to prevent the publication of the schedule—even within the company.
