Collective Agreement on a long-term working time account in North-Rhine-Westfalia

1. The IG Metall region North-Rhine-Westphalia - - that is one of the seven regional organizations the IG Metall is divided into - concluded recently an agreement on long term working time accounts.

As you know, the regional organizations conduct the negotiations for collective agreements and they can settle agreements which are valid only for that region. The IG Metall-region of North-Rhine Westphalia has about 380 000 members (total employment in the metal industry of that region: approximately 745.000).

2. The long term working time account is supposed to serve the personal needs and interests with respect to planning the individual working life. Each employee who owns such a long term time account has a right to take advantage of the account for
shortening working life just before getting retired;
additional parental leave
a sabbatical
time off for personal reasons (to study etc.)

Company agreements concluded between works council and management - can define further purposes for using the long term working time account.

3. The employer has no right to dispose of the account or to determine the way the employee uses his account balance.

4. The employer has to conclude a special insurance for the case of bankruptcy (insolvency) in order to give security for the time assets of the employees.

5. The annual inflow to the long term account is limited: Employees are allowed to put 152 hours into their long term account annually. The long-term working time account can be hold in time or in money.

6. It is not allowed to transfer hours from the flexible individual working time account (which often already exists) to the long term working time account!

7. Based upon this collective agreement, works councils and management can conclude a company agreement on long-term working time account.