Topic: Germany

Remuneration of works councils: Liability trap for HR managers

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

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on March 8, 2023 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

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on January 23, 2023 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?

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on January 23, 2023 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

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on December 22, 2022 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

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on December 13, 2022 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

By Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on December 13, 2022 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

Obligation to record working time

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on September 15, 2022 Posted in Contracts, Europe, General, Germany

The German Federal Labor Court (BAG) has surprisingly ruled (BAG, 13.09.2022 – 1 ABR 22/21) that employers are legally required to record not only overtime and Sunday work, but all of their employees’ working hours.… Continue reading

Verpflichtung zur Arbeitszeiterfassung

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on September 15, 2022 Posted in Germany

Das Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG) hat überraschend entschieden (13.09.2022 – 1 ABR 22/21), dass Arbeitgeber gesetzlich verpflichtet sind, nicht nur Überstunden und Sonntagsarbeit, sondern die gesamte Arbeitszeit ihrer Arbeitnehmer aufzuzeichnen.… Continue reading

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

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on June 28, 2022 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

Global Employment Law – Work from Anywhere: Leadership Challenges – Transforming Workplace -#17

By Jason Noakes on June 28, 2022 Posted in Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, General, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Middle East, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, United States, Venezuela

This is the 17th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In our earlier article, we explored why employees’ expectations of their leaders have changed and why organisations need to upgrade leaders’ skills and behaviours. In this paper we now examine ow organisations can upskill their leaders to meet the specific leadership challenges arising from ‘work … Continue reading

Global Employment Law – Work from Anywhere: The end of the office? – Transforming Workplace – #16

This is the 16th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In our previous paper, we discussed how to make ‘work from anywhere’ work better. In this paper we now examine whether the day of the office, as we know it, has ended Work from Anywhere: The end of the office? – Transforming Workplace – #16 This … Continue reading

Global Employment Law- Work From Anywhere: Make it work better – Transforming Workplace -#15

This is the 15th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In this paper we examine how ‘work from anywhere’ can be made to work better. Work From Anywhere: Make it work better -Transforming Workplace – #15 This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, challenges and risk of the transforming … Continue reading

Germany: Stricter COVID-19-rules expired

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on May 26, 2022 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, General, Germany

The German government has announced that, in light of falling infection rates, the “SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance” will not be extended (press release dated May 24, 2022; see also our blog dated November 24, 2021).… Continue reading

Employee data compliance: Data minimization and deletion obligation

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on May 10, 2022 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

Global Employment Law – The Decline (and Fall?) of the Five-Day Workweek – Transforming Workplace -#14

By Jason Noakes on April 19, 2022 Posted in Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, General, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Middle East, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, United States, Venezuela

In our previous article in the Transforming Workplace series we outlined the benefits of short-term “work from anywhere”. In this article, we focus on the advantages of introducing flexible hours and days. The Decline (and Fall?) of the Five-Day Workweek This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work From Anywhere: Short Term – Transforming Workplace -#13

In our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series we examined the challenges of “work from anywhere”. In this article, we consider the best options for introducing “work from anywhere” on a short-term basis in your organisation. Work from Anywhere: Short-Term This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work From Anywhere: Benefits & Challenges – Transforming Workplace -#12

In our previous article in the Transforming Workplace series we examined the hybrid model of work. In this article we discuss the benefits and challenges of “work from anywhere”, including on a hybrid work mode. Work From Anywhere: Benefits & Challenges This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Hybrid model – Transforming Workplace -#11

Our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series discussed some of the important issues relating to the worldwide trend of working from anywhere. In this article we examine the hybrid workplace, where employees combine some level of “work from anywhere” with some time attending their worksite. Work from anywhere: Hybrid model This article is part … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Does it suit everyone?- Transforming Workplace – #10

We considered the growth in the number of employees ‘working from anywhere’ in our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series. In this article we focus on suitability – does “work from anywhere” suit all jobs, all countries, and all employees? Work from anywhere: Does it suit everyone? This article is part of our Transforming … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Does location matter? – Transforming Workplace – #9

Our previous article in our Transforming Workplace series noted that “work from home” becomes “work from anywhere” when employees home to a more remote location further away from their pre-pandemic worksite. This article looks at some of the issues the change in location can have ifworkers “work from anywhere”. Work from anywhere: Does location matter? … Continue reading

Global Employment Law : Work from home becomes work from anywhere – Transforming Workplace -#8

This article in our Transforming Workplace series is the first in a series examining employees “working from anywhere” – an important issue facing organisations worldwide. Work from home becomes work from anywhere This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, challenges and risk of the transforming workplace can be … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Leadership Reimagined -Transforming Workplace – #7

In the previous article in our series “Transforming Workplace” we considered the challenges to the employer’s organisational culture that will result from changed employee expectations and from modernising your Employee Value Proposition. In this article we look at how these enhancements to your organisational culture will challenge the capability and style of your leadership team. … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: How the Gig Economy is reshaping labour markets

On 24 March 2022, Maartje Govaert, Global Head of Employment and Labour, joined the panel for the JP Morgan virtual Global ESG Conference, discussing “How the Gig Economy is reshaping labour markets: Exploring ESG Risks and Opportunities”. Below is a summary of some of the points raised by Maartje in the discussion. What is the … Continue reading