In May and June, many public holidays are just around the corner – these always raise questions in everyday working life, especially when work is done or special bonuses come into play. We have summarized the most important points in an understandable way.
When is holiday work allowed at all?
Even if there is no obligation to work on public holidays, employees can still be called upon to work in cases necessary for operational reasons. The prerequisite is that there is a corresponding demand in the company.
Examples of this could be:
- Theses
- Maintenance or repair work
- averting an imminent danger to the safety of life or human health or in the event of an emergency
- to remedy a malfunction
What is the holiday pay?
If a public holiday falls on a regular working day, there is an entitlement to remuneration. If work is actually done, there is an additional entitlement to public holiday pay. This is regulated by law and employees are entitled to this regardless of collective agreement provisions.
When do holiday surcharges apply?
The situation is similar with bonuses, which are only incurred for work actually performed on the holiday. Whether and to what extent a holiday bonus is due – whether within or outside normal working hours – results from the collective agreement, a works agreement or an individual agreement.
Are all hours on a holiday also overtime?
No – this is a common misconception.
Work on a public holiday is not automatically overtime work.
The decisive factor is whether the hours worked exceed your normal working hours. If employees work within their scheduled normal working hours, this is not overtime. In this case, the public holiday remuneration must be paid, supplemented by any holiday surcharges as agreed.
Only if work is done beyond the planned normal working hours does overtime arise. These are to be compensated with the statutory surcharge of at least 50% or correspondingly higher collective agreement provisions.
When the holiday falls on a Sunday
If a public holiday meets a Sunday, the regulations for Sunday apply. Sunday therefore “trumps” the holiday – additional holiday regulations do not apply in this case. This also means that if no surcharge is provided for in the collective agreement for Sunday, no surcharge will be charged for work on a “holiday Sunday” either.
Sick leave on public holidays
If an employee falls ill on a public holiday, this day is not counted as a sick leave day. The holiday therefore remains “neutral” and does not reduce the sick leave quota.
Why all this quickly becomes confusing without electronic time recording
The combination of legal entitlements, special collective bargaining agreements and company agreements makes the accounting of working hours on public holidays complex. Different surcharges, exceptions and special cases must be correctly identified and applied.
Coredat Time Recording provides clarity here: It documents exactly when work was done, distinguishes between normal working hours, overtime and holiday work, and transparently maps the respective bonus logics. This reduces errors in payroll accounting, saves administrative effort and ensures that employees are paid fairly and correctly.
And this is what it looks like in concrete terms:
Result
For employers, public holiday regulations are an interplay of law and individual framework conditions. Those who rely on clear processes and reliable time recording ensure that billing is done correctly and legal risks are minimized . A professional solution in time recording and payroll accounting is a decisive success factor.
Do you have questions about a specific case, need advice or would you like a reliable time tracking system that can do more than just record attendances and absences? We will be happy to advise you!
This article was created in collaboration between our two teams for Time & Travel and Payroll – because that’s exactly what Coredat is all about: the close cooperation between our teams that seamlessly combines technical expertise and technical solutions.
