Rahmentarifverträge

Rahmentarifverträge are framework collective agreements concluded between employers’ associations and trade unions in German-speaking labor markets. They establish the general structure and rules for employment conditions within a sector or company but do not usually fix the concrete wage levels themselves. Instead, they provide the basis for more specific wage agreements and local or sectoral negotiations.

The primary purpose of a Rahmentarifvertrag is to create uniform, broadly applicable guidelines that govern key employment aspects such as wage groupings and progression, working time, leave and vacation, training and apprenticeships, and basic termination rules. They set the procedural framework for developing further tarif agreements and often define the relationship between different types of agreements, such as how Mantel- or Lohntarifverträge relate to one another. The actual calculation of wages and the precise salary tables are typically laid out in subsequent Lohntarifverträge or Flächentarifverträge that refer to the Rahmentarifvertrag.

Geltungsbereich and parties: Rahmentarifverträge are negotiated by tariff parties, usually an employers’ association and a trade union, and specify the geographic and sectoral scope of application. They can be binding for signatory employers and their employees and may be extended to others in the industry through statutory mechanisms such as general applicability or subsequent industry-wide negotiations.

Relation to other agreements: In the tariff structure, Rahmentarifverträge function as a framework or backbone, while Mantel- oder Lohntarifverträge provide the concrete terms, schedules, and amounts. They play a central role in coordinating sector-wide wage policy and employment conditions, contributing to predictability for employers and employees alike.