Tarifvertrag (TV) Gast
The trade unions BFFS, GDBA and VdO have reached an agreement with the German Stage Association on a first collective agreement for dependent guests.
The TV guest can be downloaded HERE .
(1) This collective agreement applies to guest artists who
- individual performers (in particular actresses, solo singers and solo dancers) and other solo artists within the meaning of Section 1 (2) NV Bühne and who are only employed to participate in a certain number of performances, including the associated rehearsals, or only in relation to events, insofar as they are employees within the meaning of Section 611a BGB (solo guests) for this engagement.as defined in Section 611a BGB (solo guests), and
- as singers or dancers for supplementary participation in an opera chorus or dance group, insofar as they are employees within the meaning of Section 611a BGB for this engagement (opera chorus or dance group guests).
(2) This collective agreement shall only apply to stages within the Federal Republic of Germany that are wholly or predominantly legally or economically supported by a federal state or by one or more municipalities or by one or more associations of municipalities.
(3) This collective agreement shall not apply to bit-part actresses, extras, laywomen and trainees or students in the relevant professions or to permanent employees of the respective stage. It also does not apply to members of the extra chorus, insofar as they are employed as such.
Protocol Notes:
- The personal designations used in this collective agreement include persons of all genders.
- The parties to the collective agreement clarify that female guest artists at theatres are also self-employed, provided that the legal requirements are met. This collective agreement does not call into question such self-employment of female guest artists.
(1) A fixed-term employment contract (guest employment contract) shall be concluded with the guest artist prior to commencing work. The employment contract shall be concluded in writing. The same applies to amendments and additions.
(2) The employment contract must state:
a) the stage(s) for which the guest artist is employed;
b) the period for which the employment contract is concluded, stating the calendar days on which the employment relationship begins and ends;
c) the rehearsal period and the performance days known at the time the contract is concluded;
d) whether the guest artist is employed as a soloist, as a guest for the opera chorus or as a guest for the dance group;
e) the production for which the guest artist is engaged; in the case of a soloist, the role/part should also be stated; in the case of a chorus singer, the vocal group must be stated.
(1) A fee for the performances and rehearsals shall be agreed in the guest contract. Instead of a fee for individual rehearsal days, a flat-rate rehearsal fee may be agreed for the entire rehearsal period.
(2) For solo guests, the minimum fee per performance shall be 10 percent of the starting fee in accordance with § 58 para. 1 subpara. 1 sentence 2 NV Bühne. Notwithstanding this, this amount may be reduced for smaller roles, parts or tasks to 8 percent of the starting fee in accordance with § 58 para. 1 subpara. 1 sentence 2 NV Bühne. For participation in two performances taking place on the same day, a total of 150 percent of the minimum fee according to sentences 1 and 2 shall be paid; otherwise, § 58 para. 3 letter a NV Bühne shall apply accordingly.
(3) The minimum fee per rehearsal day shall be 5 percent of the starting fee pursuant to Section 58 (1) subsection 1 sentence 2 NV Bühne. Notwithstanding this, a fee of at least 4 percent of the starting fee pursuant to Section 58 (1) subsection 1 sentence 2 NV Bühne per rehearsal day may be agreed for a smaller role, part or task.
(4) It may be agreed in the guest contract that the fees for participation in performances and rehearsals that take place within a period of 30 days shall not exceed the entry fee pursuant to Section 58 (1) subsection 1 sentence 2 NV Bühne.
(5) In the guest contract, the minimum fee per rehearsal day pursuant to paragraph 3 may be reduced by up to half if the agreed fees for the performances and rehearsals total the sum of the minimum fees pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 for these performances and rehearsals.
(6) For opera chorus and dance group guests, the minimum fee per performance is 1.8 times the daily fee (§ 75 para. 2 and § 88 para. 2 NV Bühne) without including any allowances of the respective opera chorus or dance group. Insofar as the participating members of the opera chorus are or would be entitled to special remuneration for singing in a foreign language for the performance (§ 79 para. 2 letters b and c NV Bühne), 1.8 times this special remuneration shall be an additional part of the minimum remuneration pursuant to sentence 1. 150 per cent of the minimum remuneration pursuant to sentences 1 and 2 shall be paid in total for participation in two performances taking place on the same day.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 shall apply. If the opera chorus or dance group guest is employed during the period referred to in paragraph 4 to a comparable extent as the members of the respective opera chorus or dance group, the minimum fee referred to in paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the fee (§ 76 or § 89 NV Bühne) of the respective opera chorus or dance group.
The fee shall be paid no later than the last working day of the following calendar month (payday) for the previous month to a current account designated by the guest artist. If the payment date falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, the previous working day shall apply; if it falls on a Sunday, the second preceding working day shall apply as the payment date.
The costs of transferring the fee, with the exception of the costs for crediting the recipient's account, shall be borne by the employer; the account set-up, account management or booking fees shall be borne by the guest artist.
Advance payments can be made at the request of the guest artist.
(1) The placement fee that may be incurred due to the conclusion of the contract shall be borne equally by the guest artist and the employer. The employer shall only bear a proportionate share of the costs if this is either expressly agreed in the guest artist contract or if the name of the guest artist was disclosed to the employer for the respective employment contract by the agent at the employer's request.
(2) Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the contractual extension of an employment relationship.
(1) If the guest artist is unable to work due to illness through no fault of her own, she shall receive sick pay in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 4.
Incapacity to work through no fault of one's own within the meaning of the first subparagraph shall also be deemed to be incapacity to work as a result of a preventive medical care or rehabilitation measure approved by a statutory pension, health or accident insurance provider, an administrative authority of the war victims' pension scheme or another social benefit provider and which is carried out in a preventive medical care or rehabilitation facility. In the case of guest artists who are not members of a statutory health insurance fund or are not insured under the statutory pension insurance scheme, sentence 1 of this subparagraph shall apply accordingly if a preventive medical care or rehabilitation measure has been prescribed by a doctor and is carried out in a preventive medical care or rehabilitation facility or a comparable facility.
Incapacity for work through no fault of one's own within the meaning of subsections 1 and 2 shall also be deemed to be incapacity for work within the meaning of § 3 para. 2 and § 3a of the Continued Remuneration Act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz).
(2) The guest artist shall receive sick pay for a period of up to six weeks; during the rehearsal phase, the sick pay shall be calculated according to the amount of the fee to which the guest artist would be entitled according to the corresponding provisions in the guest contract. For performances, the sick pay shall amount to 50 percent of the fee agreed in the guest contract for the respective performance, but at least the minimum fee in accordance with § 3 Para. 2 for solo guests and § 3 Para. 6 for opera chorus and dance group guests. The sick pay shall amount to a maximum of twice the respective minimum fee.
(3) If the guest artist becomes unfit for work again as a result of the same illness (paragraph 1), she shall be entitled to sick pay in accordance with paragraph 2 for a further period of six weeks due to the renewed incapacity for work if
a) they have not been unable to work for at least six months due to the same illness prior to the renewed incapacity for work, or
b) a period of twelve months has elapsed since the beginning of the first incapacity for work due to the same illness.
If the employment relationship ends before the expiry of the period of six weeks after the start of the incapacity for work referred to in paragraph 2, the entitlement ends with the end of the employment relationship.
(4) If a new employment relationship with the same employer follows an employment relationship that has been terminated due to the lapse of time, the time limits for the payment of sick pay due to incapacity for work caused by illness in the previous employment relationship shall not begin to run anew.
Protocol note on paragraph 1:
Fault within the meaning of paragraph 1 only exists if the incapacity for work was caused intentionally or through gross negligence.
(1) In the cases of § 6 para. 1 subparas. 1 and 3, the guest artist is obliged to inform the employer immediately of the incapacity for work and its expected duration and to submit a medical certificate confirming the existence of the incapacity for work and its expected duration from the first day of the incapacity for work. If the incapacity to work lasts longer than stated in the certificate, the guest artist is obliged to submit a new medical certificate.
The employer is entitled to refuse to pay the sick pay in accordance with § 6 as long as the guest artist does not submit the medical certificate to be presented by her in accordance with subparagraph 1, unless the guest artist is not responsible for the breach of this obligation incumbent upon her.
(2) In the cases of § 6 para. 1 subpara. 2, the guest artist is obliged to inform the employer immediately of the date of commencement of the measure, the expected duration and the extension of the measure and to inform her
a) a certificate of approval of the measure by a social benefit provider in accordance with § 6 para. 1 subpara. 2 sentence 1 or
b) a medical certificate confirming the necessity of the measure within the meaning of Section 6 (1) subsection 2 sentence 2
without delay. Paragraph 1 subparagraph 2 applies accordingly.
(1) If the guest artist can claim compensation from a third party on the basis of statutory provisions for loss of earnings caused by her inability to work, this claim shall pass to the employer to the extent that the employer has paid the guest artist sick pay and other remuneration and has paid the employer's contributions to the Federal Employment Agency, employer's share of social security and long-term care insurance contributions and contributions (including flat-rate tax) to supplementary old-age and survivors' pension schemes.
(2) The guest artist must immediately provide the employer with the information required to assert the claim for damages.
(3) The subrogation pursuant to paragraph 1 may not be asserted to the detriment of the guest artist.
(4) The employer is entitled to refuse to pay sick pay and other remuneration if the guest artist prevents the transfer of a claim for damages against a third party to the employer, unless the guest artist is not responsible for the breach of these obligations incumbent upon her.
(1) If, by order of the stage, no rehearsal takes place for the guest artist on a rehearsal day announced in the weekly schedule, the guest artist shall nevertheless receive the fee agreed for this rehearsal day in the guest contract, unless the cancellation of the rehearsal(s) is due to reasons that are not part of the operational risk of the theater.
If the guest artist receives a rehearsal fee, the cancellation of individual rehearsals at the request of the stage shall not result in a reduction of the rehearsal fee.
(2) If the stage cancels a performance agreed in the guest contract with the guest artist, the guest artist shall receive a cancellation fee in accordance with the following provisions, unless the cancellation of the performance is due to reasons that are not part of the theater's operational risk:
50 percent of the performances agreed in the guest contract plus one further performance are guaranteed (performance base). If the cancellation of performances results in one performance of this performance base not taking place, the guest artist shall receive 100% of the fee agreed for this performance.
If a performance is canceled beyond the performance period in accordance with subsection 2, the guest artist shall receive a cancellation of the respective performance date with a lead time of
up to 8 weeks 25 percent
up to 4 weeks 50 percent
shorter than 4 weeks 100 percent
of the fee agreed for the respective performance.
(3) If the stage and the guest artist reach an agreement during the term of the guest contract on a catch-up date for the canceled performance or on a role/part in another production at another time, the cancellation fee paid in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be credited against the fee(s) regulated in this agreement.
(4) Paragraph 2 shall not apply if the stage and the guest artist agree that the guest artist will take on a role/part in another production on the same day.
(1) The guest artist shall receive vacation leave for the duration of the guest contract with payment of the vacation allowance in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 5.
(2) Three working days' vacation shall be granted for every 26 agreed days of employment.
(3) Vacation days shall be granted by the stage primarily during the rehearsal phase, taking into account operational requirements and, if possible, the wishes of the guest artist. It is permissible to grant vacation days individually.
(4) The guest artist shall receive a vacation allowance for each day of vacation, calculated as follows:
The remuneration for the premiere performance shall be added to all remuneration for rehearsals during the rehearsal phase or to the contractually agreed rehearsal lump sum. The resulting sum shall be divided by the number of employment days on which the guest artist is available for rehearsals during the rehearsal phase in accordance with the guest contract and the day of the premiere.
The vacation allowance for each day of vacation shall be at least the minimum remuneration in accordance with § 3 para. 3 sentence 1 and at most 1.5 times this minimum remuneration.
(5) The vacation entitlement shall be compensated if and insofar as the vacation cannot be given and taken until the end of the contractual period or until an earlier termination of the employment relationship for compelling operational reasons.
The monetary compensation for each day of vacation corresponds to the vacation allowance in accordance with paragraph 4.
(1) If the guest artist falls ill on a day of vacation and reports this immediately, the days of illness on which the guest artist was unfit for work as evidenced by a medical certificate shall not be counted towards the vacation; § 7 (1) shall apply accordingly.
(2) The employer shall determine the start date of the leave to be granted in accordance with paragraph 1, taking into account operational requirements and, if possible, the wishes of the guest artist.
The guest artist is compulsorily insured with the Versorgungsanstalt der deutschen Bühnen, insofar as the statutes of the Versorgungsanstalt der deutschen Bühnen provide for such compulsory insurance.
The arbitration courts appointed by the contracting parties to this collective agreement in accordance with the agreed stage arbitration rules shall have exclusive jurisdiction for all civil disputes within the meaning of Section 2 of the Labor Court Act between the parties to the employment contract, to the exclusion of the labor courts.
Claims arising from the employment relationship expire if they are not asserted in writing by the guest artist or the employer within a preclusive period of six months after the due date, unless otherwise stipulated in the collective agreement.
For the same facts, a single assertion of the claim is sufficient to render the preclusion period ineffective also for benefits falling due at a later date.
(1) This collective agreement shall enter into force on June 1, 2025. It shall only apply to guest employment contracts concluded on or after June 1, 2025. It shall also apply to guest employment contracts concluded before June 1, 2025, if explicit reference is made to this collective agreement in the respective guest contract.
(2) The collective agreement may be terminated in writing with six months' notice to the end of a calendar year, at the earliest on December 31, 2026.
(3) With the entry into force of this collective agreement, § 1 (5) NV Bühne of October 15, 2022, last amended by the 13th implementation TV of October 20, 2024, shall be replaced by the following:
"(5) This collective agreement shall not apply to solo members with whom guest performance contracts are concluded. Guest performance contracts are contracts which the stage concludes with solo members in such a way that it does not employ them as permanent solo members, but only obliges them to participate in a certain number of performances, but no more than 72 during the season. In the case of series theaters, a guest performance contract only exists if the agreed remuneration far exceeds the fixed remuneration of most of the members permanently employed by the stage; in this case, the numerical limitation of performances set out in sentence 2 does not apply.
Furthermore, this collective agreement does not apply to members who are employed on a case-by-case basis (temporary workers) or for the duration of individual productions. Notwithstanding the above, Sections 53, 60 and 98 shall apply."
In addition, § 1a NV Bühne of October 15, 2022, last amended by the 13th Implementation TV of October 20, 2024, shall cease to apply.
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