Collective agreements

Employers and employees are represented by different entities that take part in collective bargaining. These bodies agree upon the working conditions of employees which are defined in the collective agreement. On the employers' side collective agreements are usualy concluded by the Economic Chamber, on the employees side by the Trade Union [Gewerkschaft].

Collective agreements primarily regulate reciprocal rights and obligations resulting from the employment.

Typical regulations in collective agreements are:

  • Remuneration
  • Continued remuneration in the event of absence
  • Employment termination
  • Working hours

Employees can invoke their rights and claims established in the collective agreement. Therefore it is important for businesses to know the current regulations of the collective agreement.

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Sorry, this content isn't available in English yet.

Not all of our contents and services are available in English yet. We ask for your under­standing and like to assure that we are steadily working on extending our English offer.

Sorry, this content isn't available in English yet.

Not all of our contents and services are available in English yet. We ask for your under­standing and like to assure that we are steadily working on extending our English offer.

Further Links

Collective agreements can be downloaded for free from the following websites:

Legal bases

sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 15, 1617 and 160 of the Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz (ArbVG)

Last update: 1 January 2024

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy