Working hours in the kitchen

Are you interested in a job in the catering industry, but still have questions about your working hours? No problem! We have compiled the most important information for you. Find out about your rights now!

Whether you are a chef or a dishwasher - the respective working hours in the kitchen are regulated in the collective agreement for the hotel and catering industry.

The standard weekly working hours in the hotel and catering industry stipulate that you must divide your work into five days. This results in two days of rest, which you have entirely at your disposal. As Sundays are working days for hotel and catering employees, you generally have two days off during the week. Under special circumstances, these normal weekly working hours can also be shifted.

* Status: 2024

For full-time employees, normal working hours can also be distributed differently within a 26-week period. In individual weeks, it may be extended to up to 48 hours in one week. This may be necessary if things get a little more stressful during the peak season.

But don't panic! The prerequisite is always that the average number of working hours in the calculation period must not exceed 40 hours per week. If this is the case, the working hours in question count as overtime. Incidentally, the normal daily working time in the calculation period is nine hours.

Good to know: At the end of the calculation period, your employer must pay out all hours above the average described above as overtime with the corresponding overtime premium with the following month's salary. Is your work-life balance more important to you than more money in your bank account? Then you can consume your overtime - also with the corresponding overtime bonus - in the form of compensatory time off.

After work comes pleasure. And there should be enough time for fun, action and relaxation - don't you think? We'll tell you now when and how much free time you're entitled to.

• Rest breaks: You can use a maximum of one hour a day to take a break from work - for lunch, catching your breath or similar. The extent and duration of this break is usually specified by the company.
• Important to know: You do not have to be on standby for work during your breaks - this time is entirely reserved for you and your recovery.
• Interruption of work: Apart from rest breaks, working time may be interrupted once if necessary - twice in exceptional cases.
• Daily rest periods: Rest periods are those 11 hours that your employer is obliged to give you between the end of your working day and before the start of your next working day.
• Weekend rest: You are entitled to 36 hours of continuous rest within a seven-day period. If you have to work during your weekly rest period, you are entitled to a corresponding substitute rest period. Postponing the weekly rest period is only permitted in exceptional cases - according to the collective agreement, only if "an operationally unavoidable, unforeseeable event" occurs. After all, this time is intended for your free time and is exclusively for relaxing and unwinding.
• Vacation: As in any other industry, you are of course entitled to statutory vacation in the hotel and catering industry. You must agree with your employer when you take this time off. It is important to take into account both the operating conditions and your social needs.

First things first: Your employer is legally obliged to inform you of your working hours and the hours you have worked. Your roster - i.e. an overview of when you are scheduled to work and when you have time off - must be communicated by your supervisor at least two weeks in advance. The duty rosters are usually posted in an easily accessible place.

Your employer must also inform you about your time credits or debts. You will therefore always receive a detailed list of the hours you have worked with your current payslip.

Are you looking for a new job as a chef in the hotel and catering industry? HOGASTJOB is the right place for you. Find employers in the most beautiful regions of Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrol - and take advantage of a wide range of benefits. In the HOGASTJOB blog, we regularly publish the best job advertisements of the week for service staff, receptionists and chefs.