Münster (dpa / lnw) - The North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster is dealing with a dispute between the state and a police officer on Thursday. The civil servant worked as a volunteer in local politics and demanded from his office that almost 120 hours for exercising a mandate in the district council in Lippe in the years 2013 to 2017 be counted towards his shift work. In doing so, he referred to the law in force in North Rhine-Westphalia to strengthen voluntary work.
In 2018, the employer refused his request. In August 2020, however, the police officer from the Lippe district prevailed in front of the Minden Administrative Court across the board. The country had argued that civil servants working in shifts could plan their working hours in advance so that there were no conflicts with the political mandate. However, if there are overlapping appointments for work and voluntary work, leave should be granted.
The Administrative Court did not share this view. As a civil servant in the state, he could also invoke the right derived from the municipal code to have his voluntary work counted towards his working hours. Half of the time spent in volunteer work should be counted. The state did not agree with the verdict and appealed to the OVG.
