A granted addition for Sundays, holiday or night work ranks in the German income tax among the favoured incomes. Into the benefit of these can come for instance police officers, firefighters, shift-workers or officials of hospital.

With an addition to the basic wage the achievement contribution of the employee is to be honored at times, at which the majority of the persons employed has work-free, financially by the employer. The state for his part does without the taxation of these payment components. The addition is within the borders "§ of the 3b EStG tax and social security-free.

It is insignificant whether the addition is paid due to a legal, as fixed in the tariff, operational or individual-contractual basis by the employer. For a call readiness or an on-call service, i.e. a practice of work in the case of need, usually smaller is granted.

Addition grant with overlapping tours

The question of the addition grant becomes interesting with tours, which overlap addition-requiring clock times and clock times free of extra charge.

In the work time law it can be examined whether during layer lap of addition-requiring times to work times free of extra charge a grant of the extra pay per hour or per layer is to be granted.

In order to judge the size of the "“granulation"”, also a healthy human understanding is enough - in addition, each lawyer picks out from the law that a computation by the hour of overlapping time phases cannot outweigh in relation to a daily view.

For example in "§ 2 Abs.4 of the work time law to granulation size "“hours"” it is turned off but in the sense that it is to be taken into account in favor of the employee that (in this case) night work is to be marked as such, even if the layer start outside of the nighttime falls.

"§ 11 Abs.3 explanation then likewise that for sunning and holiday occupation a balance time in "“granulation size"” is to be granted "“day"”, thus there a "“granulation size"” is not "“hours"” defined.

It is not to be assumed therefore with security with 50:50 only the hours are to be granted layer lap in addition-requiring and (work and/or) clock times free of extra charge in the addition-requiring work time as reconciliation in hour form, but the law speaks clearly of spare quiescent "“day"”.

To that extent it is clear that with a beginning of layer at a holiday also with laminating must be paid outside of the addition-requiring time the extra pay for the layer and not only for the individual hours at the holiday.

The case becomes interesting, if the laminating falls in a addition-requiring time and/or daily kind (Sunday/holiday). Then is the entire layer to be

If the rule is to the granulation size "“day"”, it would be also there anzuwenden."§ 2 Abs.4 explanation also this and founded also above: It is spoken clearly of "“work"” (= as much as "“layer"”) and not of "“times"”. As soon as a "“work"” falls more than two hours into the legally defined nighttime phase, the work - and evenly not the resulting hours/work " time"” - is defined and thus addition requiring as "“night work"”. I.e. thus completely addition requiring.

This sense of the law is not thus with night work defined and also with Feiertagsarbeit different. Particularly since it is to be considered that it concerns even "“a work"” hineinlappende into the addition-requiring time phase (beginning of layer outside of the addition obligation).

Only right is therefore "“a work"” (laminating one outside of the addition obligation), herauslappende from the addition-requiring time phase, just as as "“work"” defined (and not as a "“hour"”), i.e. also in this case the "“work"” as "“work"” is defined, which is subject to the addition obligation. Thus the complete work input of the addition obligation is to be supported.

I.e. in both cases (beginning of work or end of work outside of that addition requiring (of the legislator) defined time)) is the complete work input of the addition obligation to support - and now the restriction - if the collective agreement for it plans (night work). With holidays it is also legally defined.

Legal sources:

• "§ 2 definitions

(4) Night work in the sense of this law is each work, which covers more than two hours of the nighttime.

• "§ 11 reconciliation for sunning and holiday occupation

(3) If employees are employed on one Sunday, they must one spare quiescent day have,"….

Current development

In the coalition contract SPD/CDU/CSU it agreed that the for Sundays, holiday and night work to the past extent to remain taxfree. However social security obligation of the is to occur starting from hourly wages of 25 euro.

Articles in category "Addition for Sundays, holiday and night work"

We found here 11 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 4 related websites.

• Federal Holidays - Work Schedules and Pay
  Overtime Pay On a Holiday. Work on Holidays. Night Work Sunday Work. References: ... Night pay is paid in addition to holiday premium pay or overtime pay. ...


• Leo Report 2004 Appendices - Appendix F
  Biweekly cap applies to following types of premium pay: overtime pay (including compensatory time off), night pay, Sunday pay, holiday work pay, ...


• United States Office of Personnel Management
  Relationship to GS Night Pay. When an employee has a regularly scheduled basic tour ... (Compressed Work Schedule). A Sunday or holiday tour of duty is not ...


• US Office of Personnel Management
  (See also "Flexible Work Schedules," below.) Relation to Other Premium Pay. Night pay is paid in addition to overtime, Sunday, or holiday premium pay. ...