For many years, the temporary staffing industry has had a collective agreement that regulates, among other things, the division into individual pay groups. Reason enough to take a closer look at the most important regulations. We at Arbeitswelt Personaldienstleistung GmbH & Co KG from Hamburg will tell you exactly which gradations and regulations apply here.
Pay grades: Transparent remuneration in temporary employment
There are still some prejudices about the temporary employment sector, including the regulations on remuneration. For example, some less informed people still claim that temporary workers receive an arbitrary, mostly very low hourly rate. However, this is definitely not the case, as the Collective Agreement on Temporary Employment proves. It contains clear rules according to which both qualification and experience pay off. Both staffing agencies and workers also have certainty about the collectively agreed wage.
The pay grades and their differences
As part of the recruitment process, the first thing to clarify is which pay group the new employee will be placed in. Thanks to the total of ten different classifications, there are binding specifications and gradations according to which this is done. As a general rule, the higher the qualifications and requirements of the job, the higher the classification:
What pay grade am I in?
This question arises as soon as someone wants to start working as a temporary employee. In order to make a classification, a look at the so-called remuneration table helps. In the 10 pay groups established since 01.07.2020, corresponding requirements are defined. The classification of a temporary worker is based on this table.
Which pay grades are there?
Since 01.07.2020 there have been 10 pay grades for temporary employment, whereby pay grade 2 is now divided into 2a and 2b as part of an adjustment. The following pay groups form the basis for the classification of temporary employment:
- Paygroup 1: Instruction in the job by the company is necessary.
- Paygroup 2a: Specialized work experience, specialized knowledge or training period required
- Paygroup 2b: Subject-specific qualification required
- Paygroup 2: Specialized work experience or longer training period required
- Paygroup 3: Several years of professional experience and training required
- Paygroup 4: At least one year of work experience longer than in level 3, plus completed 3-year training program
- Pay group 5: Several years of specialized work experience, plus additional training, independent working style, 3 years of training
- Paygroup 6: In addition to the requirements specified in EG 5, special qualification measures as a master craftsman or technician
- Remunerationgroup 7: Independent processing of complex tasks, master craftsman, technician or technical college training, responsibility for personnel and material assets
- Pay group 8: Completion of a course of study at a technical college, independent work on more complex tasks
- Pay group9: Completed studies at a university of applied sciences and several years of work experience, alternatively completed studies at a university, independent work on more complex tasks.
Classification: A question of job requirements
The basis for the individual classification of temporary employment in each case is the respective requirements of the job. In case of doubt, it is not necessarily the qualifications, but the activity specified in the employment contract that determines whether the temporary worker is placed in a higher pay group. Just because the applicant has completed a university degree does not necessarily mean that he or she will be classified in pay group 9. The handling of grouping in the collective agreements with BAP and iGZ differs.
Furthermore, upgrading and downgrading are possible within the wage groups in temporary employment. The transfer to a higher pay grade can be legally regulated with an additional agreement to the employment contract. However, this only applies to a fixed period of employment in a subsequent job. The qualified activity is paid at a correspondingly higher rate.
A new grouping is not an obligation in the case of a temporary, higher activity. Only from the 6th week onwards must an allowance be paid in the amount of the difference between the pay group appropriate for the activity and the lower pay group.
A clause is included in the temporary employment contract that prevents the downgrading of pay if a lower qualification is required for an assignment. A downgrade to a lower pay grade is only legal in the case of temporary employment if it is found that the requirements are not met.
Remuneration in the pay grades: Alignment of East and West
Until recently, there were different pay scales in the east and west. These were aligned as of 01.04.2021, so that the following hourly rate now results for the whole of Germany:
- EG 1: 10.45 €
- EG 2a: 11.15 €
- EG 2b: 11.72 €
- EG 3: 12.79 €
- EG 4: 13,53 €
- EG 5: 15,72 €
- EG 6: 17,19 €
- EG 7: 20,07 €
- EG 8: 21,60 €
- EG 9: 22,79 €
We at Arbeitswelt Personaldienstleistung GmbH & Co KG are available to answer any further questions you may have about the pay grades as a recruitment agency in Hamburg, Troisdorf, Bremerhaven, Nordhorn and Cuxhaven.