Lidl introduces the four-day week in Austria
The discounter Lidl will introduce the four-day week for selected office workers and employees in Austria.
The minimum salary for branch employees has already been increased to 2,090 euros. The four-day week should not apply to them.
The German trade unions advocate a shortened working week, which also reduces the total working time – with full wage compensation.
After a regulation was introduced in Belgium in February that offers full-time employees the opportunity to work four days instead of five, the discounter Lidl now wants to enable its office employees in Austria to do the same.
how to die food newspaper reports, according to the current annual report of Lidl Austria, selected employees and staff will soon be able to work the standard working time of 38.5 hours as part of a shortened working week. They may also be granted an extra week of vacation. This regulation does not include employees who work in branches, but Lidl had increased the minimum salary for branch employees to 2,090 euros on March 1st.
When asked by Lebensmittelzeitung which criteria “selected employees” have to meet in order to be able to take advantage of the shortened working week, Lidl only gave a general answer: “As a responsible employer, we offer a lot to get the best employees. The list of our incentives is long – from part-time and flextime models to sabbaticals to team events and company health care. In 2022 we will expand and further improve our offer. In addition to job security and fair wages, the desire for flexible working models is growing.”
Although, according to a Forsa survey, the shortened working week is also very popular in Germany – 71 percent could imagine a four-day week – German trade unions point to possible negative consequences. Working ten hours a day for three consecutive days can create new problems. Instead, YOU advocate a shortened working week, in which working hours are not only redistributed, but also lengthened overall with comprehensive wage compensation.
MRS