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 transposing the EU Directive (2019/1152) on Transparent and Foreseeable Working Conditions (the Directive) into national law. Accordingly, employers will be required to provide employees with more comprehensive information than before, either as part of the employment contract or in separate documentation. Failure to comply with the new requirements, can lead to fines for the employers. In this post, we summarize the most important legal effect of the amendments.

On 7 October 2019, the EU Council formally adopted the new Whistleblowing Directive that will guarantee whistleblowers EU-wide standards of protection. The Directive obliges both public and private organisations and authorities to set up secure reporting channels, so that whistleblowers can report violations of EU law as safely as possible. Member States have two years