Social partnership in action

Employability

The financial institutions subject to the VAB are required to promote continuing professional development and the maintenance of employees’ employability. They must offer their employees the opportunity to attend regular development meetings. These discussions should:

• represent a situation assessment with regard to employability
• include professional development and measures aimed at competence development and continuing education

It is now expressly recommended that such discussions should take place regularly every five years from the age of 45. The banks determine in detail the extent to which working time is credited and costs are covered for further training and other measures aimed at maintaining employability.

Working time

We spend a large part of our lives working. Regulations on working hours make up an important part of our working conditions, and are designed to prevent us from working too much. For the first time, an article on the regulation offlexible mobile working has been included in the ACEBE. This issue, which has been important not only since the coronavirus pandemic, is sometimes handled very differently among the banks. The development accelerated by the pandemic is being transformed into predictable and stable new working models. The ACEBE stipulates that normal working hours in the financial sector are 42 hours per week. However, the ACEBE also specifies that the 42-hour week must only be observed as an annual average. The extent to which a positive hourly balance at the end of a month or year is merely a flexitime balance that can be built up and reduced again independently, or actual overtime that must be ordered and approved, is often difficult to determine in individual cases. Overtime balances are now adjusted to the employee’s level of employment, which means that part-time employees are now treated in the same way as full-time employees with respect to overtime pay. The provisions of the Labor Act must also be observed, which stipulate a maximum weekly working time of 45 hours, although this may be exceeded in exceptional cases (Art. 9 – 13 ArG).
Sunday and night work is also regulated by law (Art. 16 – 19 ArG). Working time must be recorded if an employee is to maintain an overview of the hours worked. This is the only way to track whether and how much overtime was worked. In principle, it is not possible to avoid the recording of working hours, and exceptions can only be made if the employer has signed an agreement – and if certain conditions are also met. For the financial sector, this is the “Agreement on the Recording of Working Time” (ARWT), which forms an annex to the ACEBE.

Older employees

Older employees and also employees who have worked for the same employer for a very long time and have not been exposed to the labor market for a long time are considered to be particularly vulnerable – they are affected by long-term unemployment with above-average frequency. The suspicion is also frequently expressed that employers systematically force older employees out of the company – for example by raising the requirements or suddenly changing job profiles. This is why financial institutions are required to take special measures in the case of intended terminations of older and long-serving employees – and especially if the terminations are for reasons of poor performance or conduct. In the case of redundancies in connection with restructuring, on the other hand, good social plans negotiated with the social partners generally ensure that age and length of service are taken into particular account when assessing benefits (outplacement, severance pay, extended notice period, etc.). The measures mentioned in the ACEBE include providing information about an intended termination in a timely manner, listening to the affected persons prior to issuing the termination notice, and examining alternative employment options. The knowledge and experience of older employees should also be taken into account in personnel planning. The regular development meetings scheduled from age 45 also serve this purpose. So who falls under the category of “older and long-serving employees”? This is not precisely defined in the ACEBE. We assume an age range of 50 to 55 with 6 to 20 years of service as a rule of thumb: the older the employee, the fewer years of service are required, and the longer someone has worked at a bank, the lower the age limit. We support a heightened duty of care by the employer for a 50-year-old employee with twenty years of service, just as we do for an employee who is 55 years old and has been with the bank for eight years.

We advise all employees who are affected by a termination and believe they are victims of age discrimination to contact the SBEA. Whether such a termination is abusive or whether the provisions of the ACEBE have also been violated can only be examined on the basis of the individual case.

Vacations and days off

In addition to working hours, the VAB also stipulates the minimum number of vacation days per year to which employees are entitled and how these are to be taken. The vacation regulations are more generous than the law prescribes: 25 days, i.e. five weeks, for employees under 60 years of age, 28 days for employees over 60. The VAB also obliges the financial institutions subject to it to grant certain days off and short absences in addition to vacation. During this time, the full salary is paid in each case.

Equality

The world of work in the financial sector is very diverse. In the ACEBE therefore, the social partners make a joint commitment to equal opportunities and the prevention of discrimination.

Equal opportunities for employees regardless of gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation and age shall be ensured.

The social partners in the banking industry have also set up a joint specialist unit which offers a uniform control process and a seal of quality for wage equality analyses. The staff councils must be informed about the performance and results of these analyses.

Continued payment of salary

There are various reasons why an employee may have to be absent from work through no fault of their own. In the vast majority of cases, accident and illness are unforeseen and have a significant impact on the work situation. In this case, the ACEBE stipulates that the employees concerned are entitled to 80% of their salary for 720 days – as a rule, the replacement salary is covered by daily sickness benefits insurance. In addition, the employer must pay the full salary for a certain period of time, with the exact period depending on the years of service (ACEBE Art. 29). During maternity leave (at least 16 weeks), the mother receives 100% of her salary. In the case of paternity leave, 2 weeks may also be granted with full payment of salary, and must be taken within 6 months of the birth. Alternatively, a bank may grant 3 weeks of paternity leave, with full payment of salary for one week and compensation for the remaining two weeks as required by law. For adoptions, a 2 week fully paid leave entitlement applies to both caregivers. For services of various types (military service, community service, protective service), between 80% and 100% of the salary is paid, depending on the duration and family situation.

Flexible mobile working

The SBPV has introduced the topic of “mobile-flexible working” or “home office” into the latest VAB negotiations. This is not about strict regulation. Banks only have to offer the possibility of flexible mobile working, provided that the operational situation and the individual activity permit. The conditions must be set out in regulations or in a contract. Irrespective of this, it is still clear that – in the absence of corresponding official regulations – every employee basically has the right to a workplace provided by the employer and may therefore also work 100% at the office – unless the individual employment contract stipulates otherwise.