More than 42 Million Overtime Hours Are Not Compensated
In 2024, 42.3 million overtime and additional hours were worked without any payment or other compensation. This corresponds to about a quarter of all overtime hours, criticized the President of the Chamber of Labour (AK) Renate Anderl on Monday during a press conference. She demands "effective sanctions" for employers if they do not fulfill their obligations.
Unpaid overtime harms consumption in Austria
The practice of not paying overtime not only harms employees, "it is also bitter because the money for private consumption is missing" and thus the ailing economy is further weakened, said Anderl. Ultimately, the state misses out on additional revenue due to the "wage theft," which it urgently needs in view of the current budget deficit. The AK President estimated the lost income tax due to unpaid overtime at 960 million euros, and the lost revenue for social security at around 330 million euros.
"Declining payment morale" among employers
Ines Stilling, Head of Social Affairs at the AK Vienna, spoke of a "declining payment morale" among business operators, while the "willingness to work among employees remains at an enormously high level." Although the total number of overtime hours worked has decreased by almost 7 percent compared to 2023, the rate of uncompensated overtime has increased in recent times. In 2020, for example, out of 216 million overtime hours, over 30 million were not paid - nearly 14 percent compared to around 25 percent today. According to their information, men perform two-thirds of all overtime, but the willingness to pay is lower for women. Almost every third overtime hour worked by women is not compensated, while for men it is 23 percent.
AK President Anderl calls for swift measures
According to Anderl, employers who withhold legitimate claims from their employees for overtime should be imposed with "penalty surcharges of 100 percent." Additionally, more staff is needed for labor inspectorates to conduct company inspections, as well as a legal prohibition of expiration periods for overtime surcharges in employment contracts. She received support from the Trade Union Federation (ÖGB), which also demands higher surcharges for "black sheep."
(APA/Red)
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