Vorarlberg night workers must be compensated for the clock change

Night-shift workers in Vorarlberg who work an extra hour when clocks go back on Sunday must be paid for it or receive time credit, ORF reports, citing Christian Maier of the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labour.

At 3 a.m. on October 25, clocks will be turned back to 2 a.m. A shift running from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. will therefore last nine hours instead of eight. How the extra hour is compensated depends on the employee’s working-time arrangement. Options include overtime or additional-hours pay, or a credit to a time account, Maier said.

Workers in shift-based businesses, hospitals and residential and nursing homes may be affected. Maier said the Chamber of Labour’s advice service had not so far encountered disputes related to the clock change.

When clocks move forward in spring, the night and potentially a shift are one hour shorter. Workers do not have to make up the lost hour and must not have pay deducted for it. Someone scheduled to work eight hours who works seven because of the clock change must be treated as having worked the full eight, under an EU directive, Maier said.