Topic: Germany

Subscribe to Germany RSS feed

Artificial intelligence and the workplace

Global Workplace InsiderBy Pia Popp on Posted in Europe, Germany
These days especially in view of “Arbeiten 4.0”, the so called fourth industrial revolution in Germany, digitalization pervades the whole working world and is reflected in a vast number of different phenomena. As one of them artificial intelligence can complement – and in some cases even replace – manpower as we can see in the … Continue reading

Employment Law and Financial Institutions

Stefanie RadinaBy Stefanie Radina on Posted in Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Germany, Whistleblowing
In the financial sector, in addition to individual employment contracts, working conditions can be subject to various industry related statutes and regulations, collective bargaining agreements and works agreements. Laws and regulations As a reaction to the global financial crisis, the participants of the 2008 G20 summit in Washington, including Germany, agreed on the establishment and … Continue reading

Bericht zur Gleichstellung und Entgeltgleichheit erstmals in 2018 aufzustellen!

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
Die Umsetzung guter Vorsätze: Erstmaliger Entgeltbericht nach dem Entgelttransparenzgesetz Ganz oben auf der To-Do-Liste für 2018 steht – neben den Vorsätzen für das neue Jahr – für viele Unternehmen die erstmalige Aufstellung des Berichts zur Gleichstellung und Entgeltgleichheit nach dem Entgelttransparenzgesetz. Der Bericht ist im Jahr 2018 erstmals zu erstellen – Berichtszeitraum ist dabei das … Continue reading

Working as a freelancer and as an employee for the same company

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, Germany
In Germany, the distinction between employees and independent contractors (also referred to as freelancers) is particularly important. For example, the question of whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor determines whether they are protected against unfair dismissal and also affects how they are treated for statutory social security and income tax purposes. … Continue reading

Bilanzsteuerrechtliche Risiken bei älteren Betriebsrentensystemen

Claudia PosluschnyFrank WeberndörferBy Claudia Posluschny and Frank Weberndörfer on Posted in Europe, Germany
Ältere Versorgungsordnungen nehmen hinsichtlich des Anspruchsbeginns häufig nicht ausdrücklich auf die aktuelle gesetzliche Regelaltersgrenze Bezug, sondern verweisen nach wie vor auf die starre Altersgrenze von 65 Jahren. Gleichwohl erbringen die meisten Unternehmen in der Praxis erst ab dem gesetzlichen Regelrentenalter Versorgungsleistungen und bilden auch ihre Rückstellungen entsprechend. Fallen folglich Schriftform und Rückstellungen auseinander, so kann … Continue reading

What is the latest on employees’ rights in the event of redundancy in Germany?

Stefanie RadinaBy Stefanie Radina on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
In business, the restructuring of a company (such as by the closure of an individual business unit or a necessary reduction in the number of staff) may result in an employee’s redundancy. However, dismissing an employee by reason of redundancy has strict prerequisites under German law. The main requirements which must be observed under German … Continue reading

The German law on employee participation is compatible with European law

Christoph ValentinBy Christoph Valentin on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Germany
On July 18th 2017 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held, that employees of a subsidiary located in the territory of another member state do not have the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections of workers’ representatives on the supervisory board of the German parent company of that group and that such … Continue reading

Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy any special protection in the event of redundancy in Germany?

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Europe, Germany
This post was also contributed by Tony Rau, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). German law provides for extensive protection of pregnant employees and employees on leave in connection with pregnancy. Regarding the latter, German law distinguishes between maternity leave (i.e. 6 weeks before until 8 weeks after childbirth – or 6 weeks before until … Continue reading

Key employment law developments expected in 2017

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Contracts, General, Germany
A significant amount of new employment legislation is expected or is already in place for 2017. Key changes will be in the hiring of temporary workers through an agency (referred to as “personnel leasing” in Germany), employee protection and equal treatment. Reform of laws regarding personnel leasing One of the main developments in 2017 will … Continue reading

Geplantes Entgelttransparenzgesetz

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in General, Germany
Mit dem geplanten Entgelttransparenzgesetz will die Bundesregierung Lohnunterschiede zwischen Frauen und Männern abschaffen. Durchschnittlich ist die Vergütung von Frauen in gleichwertigen Positionen 7 Prozent niedriger als die von Männern. Dieser sogenannte „Gender Pay Gap“ soll mit dem am 11. Januar 2017 vom Bundeskabinett beschlossenen „Gesetz zur Förderung der Transparenz von Entgeltstrukturen“ bekämpft werden. Mehr zum … Continue reading

Recent changes to the law on the dismissal of severely disabled employees

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, Germany
In Germany, as of 1 January 2017, various amendments to the law on severely disabled persons came into force. Of particular importance is a new regulation relating to the dismissal of severely disabled employees. Until the recent changes came into force, before the dismissal of a severely disabled employee the representative body for severely disabled … Continue reading

What rights do workers have to rest breaks in Germany?

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Germany
This post was also contributed by Sebastian Kutzner, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). Due to increasing demands for a work life balance, uncertainty as to employees’ rights to rest periods, in particular, is widespread. German law distinguishes between two types of rest periods: Rest breaks (to be granted during working time); and Resting time … Continue reading

What rights and protections are there for part-time workers?

Stefanie RadinaBy Stefanie Radina on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
This post was also contributed by Dimitri Schaff, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). Currently, about one quarter of all employment relationships in Germany are based on part-time models, the proportion of part-time to full-time employees having increased by about 12 per cent since 2001. Furthermore, as a result of the implementation of the EU Part-time Workers … Continue reading

What rights and protections are there for workers on zero hours contracts in Germany?

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
Unlike in the U.K. and other EU member states, zero hours contracts are not (yet) common practice in Germany. To date, other arrangements aimed at achieving “flexible working” such as fixed-term or part-time contracts, secondment of personnel and – more recently – contracts to provide services have been more widespread. However, as German case law … Continue reading

“What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace in Germany?”

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany, Whistleblowing
Apart from the well-known Wiki-leaks, recent prominent cases of whistleblowing such as Lux-leaks, the Panama Papers or the case of the German geriatric nurse Brigitte Heinisch, who was dismissed after revealing the ill-treatment of elderly people in a Berlin retirement home, continue to highlight the continued relevance of the topic “whistleblowing”. While this has resulted … Continue reading

Reform of the German Law on Temporary Employment

Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, General, Germany
This post was also contributed by Bastian Semmel, International Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Frankfurt). With effect from 1 January 2017, the German legislation on temporary employment will be reformed, as the Federal Cabinet recently passed a draft law regarding this matter on 1 June 2016. These changes are designed to address the misuse of temporary … Continue reading

Fair P(l)ay in Germany? – What measures are in place (or proposed) to address gender pay inequality in the workplace

Global Workplace InsiderBy on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany
This post was also contributed by Ebru Tirel, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). In Germany, “Equal Pay Day” is widely observed. It marks the day from which women are deemed to start to earn wages in that calendar year, where men have started to earn wages since January 1st. This year, Equal Pay Day was … Continue reading

Is it possible for employers to change the terms of employment contracts?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Philipp Raben on Posted in Contracts, Europe, Germany
At first sight, the answer to this question would be: only by mutual agreement. But once you take a closer look there are many ways and situations that make it possible for an employer to unilaterally change the contractual terms. Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) are binding for members of those employers’ associations (firms)  and labour … Continue reading

What protection do employees have against race discrimination in Germany?

Wiebke MatternBy Wiebke Mattern on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany
Due to the large number of refugees now living in Germany, protection against race discrimination has recently become an issue of greater importance. Under the German Anti-Discrimination-Act, which is derived from European directives, all employees in Germany, including apprentices and job applicants, are legally protected against discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin. In … Continue reading

Enforcing employee restraints of trade after termination of employment – an update

Daniela LoyBy Daniela Loy on Posted in Contracts, Europe, General, Germany
The legal framework for post-contractual non-compete covenants is unchanged since our last post on the topic in 2013. It is nevertheless worth mentioning the following interesting court decisions which deal with the enforceability of employee restraints and the employer’s obligation to pay compensation: Pursuant to the statutory provisions in sec. 74 et. seq. German Commercial … Continue reading

(Night-)Time is Money

Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Europe, Germany
Even though, unarguably, few employees would give up a good night’s sleep in order to work night shifts, operational necessity often dictates otherwise. Certain businesses can only remain competitive and survive in the market if they require their employees to work during night-time. Parcel services, bakeries and hospitals are just a few examples of businesses … Continue reading

What are the employment implications of the transfer of a business in Germany?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Philipp Raben on Posted in Europe, Germany
The employment implications of the transfer of a business are regulated by sec. 613a German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB). A transfer of a business takes place where an economic entity is transferred by a legal transaction and the economic entity is continued by the new owner of the business. In order to determine whether such … Continue reading
LexBlog