contract-law employment germany salary
Should I work more than the mentioned working days in my job contract?
<p>I am working in German company and my job contract states following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Der Arbeitnehmer erhält für die unter vorstehend Ziff. II. näher bezeichnete Tätigkeit ein Brutto<strong>gehalt</strong> in Höhe von X Euro bei 21 Arbeitstagen,.....</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The employee receives a gross [<strong>monthly</strong>] salary of X euros for 21 working days for the activity described in more detail under II</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>and for the holidays it mentions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Der Arbeitnehmer erhält pro Kalendarjahr Anspruch auf 24 Arbeitstage Urlaub bein einer 5 Tage Woche.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The employee is entitled to 24 working days of vacation per calendar year with a 5-day week.</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>I have been working for past 1 year for the whole calendar month, regardless of number of working days. I just noticed that in February, 2022 I was paid only for 20 days as there were only 20 working days. But in March, 2022 we have 23 working days but I am only being paid for 21 days. This has been happening for past year or so.</p>
<p>Am I entitled for a compensation for the extra hours I put in. I am not sure, but sometimes I feel like my boss exploits my situation as I do not understand German law the way he does.</p>
<p>Could someone who has an understanding on this topic enlighten me?</p>
<p>Edit 1: Added scanned version of page discussing about salary and bonuses.
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AXznc.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AXznc.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

<p>You are receiveing a <strong>monthly salary</strong> (<strong>Gehalt</strong>) (as apposed to a <strong>hourly wage</strong> (<strong>Lohn</strong>)), based on a 5 day work week with a yearly average of 21 days per month</p>
<ul>
<li>21.6666=((52*5)/12)</li>
</ul>
<p>This sum doesn't take national holidays into account.</p>
<p>The <strong>average</strong> amount is based on the 9 holidays common in all states (most actually have more than 9).</p>
<p>The exact formel for the average amount of working days per month is:</p>
<ul>
<li>days=(((days_of_year-(<strong>days_free_per_week</strong>*52))-<strong>holidays_per_year</strong>)/months_per_year)
<ul>
<li>21=(((365-(<strong>2</strong>*52))-<strong>9</strong>)/12)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.arbeitsrechte.de/arbeitstage-pro-monat/#Wie_viele_Arbeitstage_pro_Monat_gibt_es_im_Durchschnitt" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Arbeitstage pro Monat errechnen - Arbeitsrecht 2022</a></p>
<p>You will be paid the monthly sum even if you only work 20 days (due to holidays etc. within one month) or 22 days.</p>
<p>If you had a contract based on <strong>Lohn</strong>, you would only be paid for each actual hour you worked.</p>
<p>The word <strong>Entgelt</strong> is now often used instead of <strong>Gehalt</strong> and <strong>Lohn</strong>, but the distinction between hourly, monthly still exists.</p>
<hr />
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>Stundenlohn</strong>: Wird im Arbeitsvertrag festgelegt, dass jede <strong>tatsächlich geleistete Arbeitsstunde</strong> entgolten wird, kann das Gehalt am Monatsende entsprechend der gearbeiteten Stunden <strong>variieren</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Monatsgehalt</strong>: Das klassische Gehalt wird <strong>monatlich ausgezahlt</strong>, <strong>ohne</strong> dass es darauf ankommt, wie viele Sonn- oder Feiertage in einem Monat anfallen, oder wie lang dieser ist.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>Hourly wage</strong>: If the employment contract stipulates that <strong>every hour actually worked</strong> is remunerated, the salary at the end of the month can vary according to the hours worked.</li>
<li><strong>Monthly salary</strong>: The classic salary is <strong>paid monthly</strong>, <strong>regardless</strong> of how many Sundays or public holidays occur in a month or how long it is.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>The agreed monthy sum of the contract should <strong>always</strong> be listed, every month, as one position in the monthly pay slip</p>
<ul>
<li>shown in the image below as: <strong>Gehalt</strong>: 3.151,00</li>
</ul>
<p>The other positions could vary, month to month, resulting in a different final monthly sum (<strong>Steuerpfl. Bruttolohn</strong>)</p>
<ul>
<li>but <strong>Gehalt</strong> should always be the same every month</li>
</ul>
<p>Any fluctuation you may have should be from the other positions in the pay slip.</p>
<p><img src="https://docplayer.org/docs-images/48/21643734/images/page_1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Can you just clarify what &quot;working the whole calendar month&quot; means: Monday to Friday, or also Saturday / Sunday? Did you take your 24 days holidays? Usually you can carry only a few days holidays over to the next year, and whatever is carried over is lost end of March. Plus there are quite a few public holidays where you shouldn't be working. (I think 10 or 11 days, but you lose the day if it is on a weekend).</p>
<p>Normally you would get paid monthly. A month has 20 to 23 working days, minus whatever public holidays there are (they are paid). The normal thing is that people get paid the same amount every month. Plus you get paid on the holidays that you are taking. So you should be working 52 weeks times 5 days = 260 days, minus on average 8 day public holidays (for example its fewer if Christmas is on Saturday / Sunday and you don't get extra days, and its more if Christmas is on working days), minus 24 days holidays = about 228 days.</p>
<p>It would be unusual to get paid more in a month with 22 or 23 working days, but it would also be very unusual to be paid less in a 20 day month.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Am I entitled for a compensation for the extra hours I put in.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apparently you are.</p>
<p>The first excerpt is in terms of 21 days rather than monthly compensation. Your transcription does not reflect that the clause has any qualifiers or constraints that address the foreseeable variation of work days in a month. This is in contrast with the second excerpt, which is in terms of calendar year. Accordingly, the compensation for each day you work (or take the paid time-off to which you are entitled) is X/21 €.</p>
<p>That being said, you need to ascertain whether other terms in the contract supersede the presumption enacted in section §612(1) of the <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/BGB.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch</a>.</p>
<p>The employer's possible allegation that the extra hours are not part of your written contract will be unavailing. That is because section §611a prescribes that all the surrounding circumstances are to be considered for ascertaining whether the matter, in this case the extra hours you worked, amounts to an employment contract.</p>
