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Nine to 5 p.m. is still the standard for many when it comes to working hours.

This formula is even immortalized on record, country legend Dolly Parton had an international hit with the song "9 to 5".

Even in Germany, not known for its affinity for country, it stayed in the singles charts for a full 13 weeks in 1981.

But Parton also knew that this only depicts part of the realities of workers.

So every mention of nine to five in the song was followed by the complaint of five to nine, the night shift, so to speak.

In Germany, 15.6 percent of people were still working shifts in 2019.

That is less than the absolute high of 17.5 percent in 2012, but also more than around the mid-1990s, when the proportion was just over ten percent.

Every sixth employee does not work nine to five, but often also very early, especially late or even completely at night.

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Employers use shift work to keep their companies open for more than eight hours.

Two- and three-shift models, through which a company is in operation for either 16 or even 24 hours, are widespread.

Some companies also rely on a “fully continuous shift system”, in which case a company is active 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With this full account model, there is often a fourth and fifth shift in order not to exceed weekly working time limits.

A 24/7 customer service would need this model, for example.

For those affected, shift work is a particular challenge, regardless of the precise design.

Doctors have warned for years that shift work, if not properly managed, poses a significant health risk, especially when it comes to night work.

In Denmark, shift work is even officially recognized as a possible cause of breast cancer.

Germany is not that far, but here too there is a legal framework for shift work, which is intended to protect the health of employees.

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Essentially the same requirements apply to shift work as to “normal” work.

“Working hours and breaks must be adhered to as usual,” says Nathalie Oberthür.

The lawyer is chairwoman of the labor law committee at the German Bar Association.

Shift workers are also not allowed to work more than eight hours at a time, in justified exceptional cases even ten.

There must be eleven hours of rest between shifts.

Among other things, the German Trade Union Federation points out that an alternation model is also common, for example swapping teams in the early and late shifts every week.

However, this is not required by law.

In principle, the employer can instruct his employees to work in shifts at any time, provided that he meets these requirements.

"That falls under his right to give instructions," says Oberthür: "It looks different if you have stipulated binding working hours in your employment contract." For example, if you negotiated with the boss that you have to be on duty every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., he cannot simply override this agreement.

Even if the company is bound by collective bargaining agreements and shift work is excluded in the relevant collective agreement, no employer can disregard it.

No night work for parents of small children

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Certain groups are never allowed to work at night regardless of these factors.

This applies to young people, for example: According to the Youth Labor Protection Act, they are only allowed to work between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Pregnant women or parents with a child under the age of twelve are also exempt from night work.

Severely disabled people are also included.

Anyone who has to work at night can at least look forward to more money.

Because everyone is entitled to a night surcharge, whether they are subject to a collective agreement or not.

However, the employer can compensate this with time off in lieu of money.

The legislature defines all activities that are performed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. as night work.

There is an exception for bakers and confectioners, where everything between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. is considered night work.

How high the night surcharge is is not so precisely specified.

"As a rule, it amounts to at least 25 percent, and at least 30 percent for permanent night work," says Nathalie Oberthür.

The more regularly night work is due, the higher this supplement can be.

A nice side aspect for employees: night supplements are tax-free to a certain extent.

From 11 p.m. to midnight and from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., this applies to supplements of up to 25 percent of the hourly wage, and from 0 to 4 a.m. even for supplements of up to 40 percent.

If an employer does not meet these requirements, then the employees have a right to demand this. "You can first complain to the works council, if there is one in the company," advises Oberthür. If that's not enough, you can also sue. Refusing to work is only a suitable option in extreme exceptional cases.

There are no officially recognized occupational diseases in connection with shift work in Germany.

But there are indications that shift work can be harmful to health.

"Especially people who work a lot at night are more likely to be diabetic or overweight," says Volker Harth as an example.

Harth is director of the Central Institute for Occupational Medicine and Maritime Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

He is also on the board of the German Society for Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine.

Shift work should be well planned

Of course, shift work involves certain risks, mainly when night shifts disrupt what is known as the circadian rhythm, says Harth.

In humans, this regulates the sleep-wake rhythm; colloquially, one could also speak of the “internal clock”.

This can have negative effects on digestion, for example.

"People are actually used to digesting during the day, and if you eat a pizza shortly before twelve, it messes up your body," explains Harth.

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Sleep quality is also a problem.

"When the employee comes home from his shift in the morning, it is often difficult to get a good and adequate sleep," says the doctor.

Other people in the apartment, slamming doors, traffic in front of the house: all of this leads to people sleeping less or worse in such a case.

Fortunately, some preventive measures can reduce the negative effects of shift work.

For example, Harth recommends paying attention to the chronotypes of the employees when designing the shift schedule.

“The term describes whether you are more of an early or a late type,” he says.

Everyone has a preference.

Colloquially, one also speaks of larks (early) and owls (late).

Those who like to get up early can then work better in the early shift; the same applies vice versa for the late types.

A suitable rotation principle that guarantees enough breaks between shifts for employees is also important.

"In addition, the employer should definitely give his employees access to the company doctor, especially when they work at night," says Harth.

The workers themselves can do a lot too.

So if you still eat something at night, if possible, you should have a little something, "salad instead of pizza", as Harth puts it.

And if you sleep in the first half of the day after the night shift, you should use the rest of the time as efficiently as possible, advises the occupational physician.

"Do exercise after you get up, go out into the sun a bit."