Frank Weberndörfer

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Deutsches Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz verabschiedet – Was Unternehmen jetzt beachten müssen

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Europe, Germany
Nach mehreren Verzögerungen im Gesetzgebungsverfahren hat der deutsche Gesetzgeber das Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz („HinSchG“) verabschiedet. Mit dem Gesetz wird die EU-Whistleblower-Richtlinie (RL (EU) 2019/1937) umgesetzt; entsprechende Gesetzgebungsverfahren sind in vielen EU-Ländern noch auf dem Weg. Mit einem Inkrafttreten ist ca. Mitte Juni 2023 zu rechnen. Unternehmen sind nun in der Pflicht, innerhalb kürzester Zeit eine interne Meldestelle … Continue reading

Remuneration of works councils: Liability trap for HR managers

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
The remuneration of employee representatives on works councils is intended to save employers money and at the same time ensure cooperation based on trust. In a recent decision, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH, 10.01.2023 – 6 StR 133/22) sets strict requirements for the legality of the level of such remuneration and does not … Continue reading

Vergütung von Betriebsräten: Haftungsfalle für Personalverantwortliche

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
Die Vergütung von Betriebsräten soll Arbeitgebern Geld sparen und gleichzeitig eine vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit sicherstellen. Der Bundesgerichtshof macht in einer jüngeren Entscheidung strenge Vorgaben zur deren Rechtmäßigkeit (BGH, 10.01.2023 – 6 StR 133/22) und schließt eine mögliche Strafbarkeit wegen vorsätzlicher Untreue bei überhöhten Entgelten nicht aus. Arbeitgeber sollten diese Entscheidung zum Anlass nehmen, ihre bisherige Vergütungspraxis … Continue reading

Germany – What to expect in 2023

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
German employment law will introduce numerous innovations and planned changes in 2023 that HR managers should be aware of. New legislation enters into force A number of new regulations have been in force since 1 January 2023. For example, employees with statutory health insurance will no longer have to submit a certificate of incapacity for … Continue reading

Arbeitsrecht 2023: Was ändert sich?

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, Germany
Das deutsche Arbeitsrecht bringt im Jahr 2023 zahlreiche Neuerungen und geplante Änderungen, die Personalverantwortliche kennen sollten. (English version available here.) Neuerungen Seit dem 1. Januar 2023 sind einige Neuregelungen in Kraft. Beispielsweise müssen gesetzlich versicherte Arbeitnehmer ihrem Arbeitgeber künftig keine Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung mehr vorlegen. Der sogenannte „gelbe Schein“ in Papierform wird insofern abgeschafft. Arbeitgeber sind nun verpflichtet, … Continue reading

Gesetzlicher Mindesturlaub: Informationspflichten des Arbeitgebers

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, Germany
Das Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG, 20.12.2022 – 9 AZR 266/20) hat die Regelungen zum gesetzlichen Mindesturlaub weiterentwickelt. Urlaubsansprüche verfallen demnach nicht mehr nach Ablauf der dreijährigen Verjährungsfrist, wenn Arbeitgeber ihre Arbeitnehmer nicht regelmäßig über ihre konkreten Urlaubsansprüche und die Verfallfristen informieren. Arbeitnehmer könnten so ihren Urlaub zeitlich unbefristet ansammeln mit zum Teil nicht unerheblichen finanziellen Auswirkungen bei … Continue reading

Working time compliance: Legal obligation to record working time

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
The German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) has now published the reasons for its much-noted decision of 13 September 2022 (ref. 1 ABR 22/21). It is now clear that the recording of working time is a fundamental duty of occupational health and safety and must be observed. However, employers still have to wait for … Continue reading

Arbeitszeit-Compliance: Zeiterfassung zwingend erforderlich

Photo of Claudia PosluschnyPhoto of Frank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
Das Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG) veröffentlichte nun die Entscheidungsgründe zu seiner vielbeachteten Entscheidung vom 13.09.2022 (Az. 1 ABR 22/21). Nunmehr ist klar, dass die Arbeitszeiterfassung als grundlegende Pflicht des betrieblichen Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutzes gilt und verbindlich zu beachten ist. Bei wichtigen Detailfragen müssen Arbeitgeber jedoch noch auf die Klarstellung durch den Gesetzgeber warten. (English version available here) … Continue reading

Necessary contents of employment contracts – change in law as of August 1, 2022

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
The “Act on Proof of the Existence of an Employment Relationship” (Nachweisgesetz – NachwG) requires employers to set out the essential contractual terms of the employment in writing to their employees. The German legislature has now passed an amendment to the Nachweisgesetz, which comes into force on August 1, 2022, and has the effect of … Continue reading

Employee data compliance: Data minimization and deletion obligation

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, General, Germany
To avoid fines, the lawful processing of employee data must respect the principle regarding data retention. Employers are obliged to erase data that is no longer required, in particular regarding the publication of employee profiles or data processed in connection with COVID-19. A recent decision (Neuruppin Labor Court, December 14, 2021 – ref. 2 Ca … Continue reading

What to expect in employment law in Germany in 2022

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Contracts, Coronavirus, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, General, Germany, Whistleblowing
Legal innovations Amended regulations apply to this year’s works council elections taking place from March 1 to May 31, 2022. Pursuant to Section 24 (2) of the Election Regulations of October 8, 2021 (BGBl. I 4640/2021), HR departments are required to provide, in addition to the typical employee data used to draw up the electoral … Continue reading

Stricter rules on compensation for data protection violations?

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Germany
The correct handling of personal data requires special care by employers. The German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 26.08.2021 – 8 AZR 253/20 (A)) has referred essential questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for clarification. The BAG’s decision, which, if confirmed by the ECJ, could now tighten the standard of due diligence and increase … Continue reading

Short-time work: Proportionate vacation reduction permissible

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
A recent decision by the German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 30.11.2021 – 9 AZR 225/11) will have significance for employers who have made use of short-time work. Individual working days which are lost due to short-time work, have to be taken into account when calculating annual leave. As a result, employees might have to adjust … Continue reading

Stricter COVID-19 rules at German workplaces

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Coronavirus, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Germany
In Germany the “Epidemic Situation of National Significance” ends on November 25, 2021.  As a result, the German legislature has amended several COVID-19 related laws, such as the German Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSG), in order to continue certain protective measures. The amended regulations (BT-Drs. 20/15 and BT-Drs. 20/78) aim to provide for a … Continue reading

The new German Works Council Modernization Act

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
The “Act to Promote Works Council Elections and Works Council Activities in a Digital Working World” (Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz – Works Council Modernization Act) came into force on June 18, 2021. The Act is intended to facilitate the activities of works councils and to strengthen the co-determination rights of works councils with regard to the use of … Continue reading

Germany: Exclusion clauses put to the test

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Jörn TwisselmannBy Frank Weberndörfer and Jörn Twisselmann on Posted in Contracts, Europe, General, Germany
Regularly agreed in employment contracts, exclusion clauses shorten the statutory limitation period for claims arising in the employment relationship and ensure certainty between employer and employee especially with regards to claims that are years old. In a remarkable decision the German Federal Labour Court (BAG, 26.11.2020 – ref. 8 AZR 58/20) has fundamentally changed the … Continue reading

Who bears the investigation costs for compliance violations?

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
Carrying out investigations to determine violations of compliance rules can cause considerable costs for companies. In a recent decision, the German Federal Labor Court (BAG, 29.4.2021 – ref. 8 AZR 276/20) has now clarified the circumstances in which an employee must bear the costs of investigations in connection with allegations of breach of compliance rules … Continue reading

COVID-19: Mandatory testing in companies

Photo of Frank WeberndörferPhoto of Claudia PosluschnyBy Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany
In view of worrying pandemic figures, the German Federal Government has amended the existing “SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance” (Corona-ArbSchV) (the Ordinance). Employers now face the additional obligation of offering COVID-19 testing to their employees, unless the employees work from home. Introduction of mandatory testing… Continue reading

Germany: COVID-19-vaccination and employment law

Photo of Frank WeberndörferBy Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany
In Germany, employers are obliged to take all necessary measures, including those to protect against infection (such as offering working from home, increased hygiene protections, social distancing and behavior) and offering voluntary company vaccination programs, in order to protect the health and safety of the workers in the company and to fulfil their obligations under … Continue reading

Germany: Home office under the new Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance

Photo of Frank WeberndörferBy Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany
To combat and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 (the SARS-CoV-2-virus), the German government has issued a new “SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance” (Corona-ArbSchV) (the Ordinance) providing for additional and time-limited measures to reduce workplace-related personal contacts. These measures include the obligation for employers to offer their employees home working, unless there are compelling … Continue reading
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