The statutory minimum standards (e.g. holiday entitlement of at least 20 working days per year, minimum wage ) always apply.

If there is a valid collective agreement, the arrangements under the collective agreement also apply.

However, deviations from both are possible:

Where contracts of employment have better working conditions, for example if more days of holiday are agreed than in law or in the collective agreement, then the improved regulation of the contract of employment applies.

In rare cases, a law or collective agreement may permit a more inferior regulation than the statutory minimum standards for the employee

. Information about this is available from the Fair Integration advice centre.