Company policies with regard to the reduction of working time

Germany WP/97/51/EN EUROPEAN FOUNDATION for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Klaus ZRobinet / Steffen Lehndorff Institut Arbeit und Technik Wissenschaftszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen Munscheidstr 14 D-45886 Gelsenkirchen 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND THE LABOUR MARKET BETWEEN 1980 AND 1995 . 1 1.2 WORKING TIME, WORKING TIME POLICY AND SOCIAL CONTEST...................................................... 3 . 1.3 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND REGULATORY PROCEDURES............................................................ 4 2 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORKING TIME REDUCTIONS AT THE PLANT LEVEL .................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 REDUCTION OF WEEKLY WORKING TIME......................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 The factors triggering the working time reductions ............................................................... 9 2.1.2 The framework ..................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Implementation: empirical findings ..................................................................................... 13 2.1.4 The decoupling of working time and operating hours ......................................................... 17 2.1.5 Working time, productivity and employment ....................................................................... 19 2.1.6 The employment effects of cuts in weekly working time ....................................................... 21 2.1.7 The effects on industrial relations ....................................................................................... 26 2.1.8 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 27 : 2.2 SHORTENING THE WORKING LIFE THE VARIOUS PROVISIONS FOR EARLY RETIREMENT................. 28 2.2.1 The legal regulations governing early retirement ............................................................... 29 2.2.2 Practical implementation.....................................................................................................32 2.2.3 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 34 2.3 PARENTAL LEAVE......................................................................................................................... 35 2.3.1 The formal basis of parental leave ...................................................................................... 35 2.3.2 Actual Take-up..........