The Berlin Administrative Court has ruled that a furniture retailer in Germany that operates exclusively online may not employ its customer service staff on Sundays and public holidays (AZ: VG 4 K 311/22). The retailer currently provides its customer service on Sundays and public holidays mainly via call centers in Poland and Ireland. His application for permission to work on Sundays for up to 14 customer service employees in Saxony was rejected.
The retailer took legal action against this. He argued, among other things, as follows: A lack of customer service on Sundays would lead to customers migrating to competitors. This would impair its competitiveness.
However, the court dismissed the claim and found that the retailer did not make extensive use of the legally permitted operating hours of 144 hours per week, as its operating hours only amounted to around 63 percent (90 hours) of this. The court also came to the conclusion that the retailer could reasonably be expected to only provide information by telephone on working days. An appeal against the ruling can be lodged with the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg.
Source: berlin.de/AZ: VG 4 K 311/22
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