Sick leave under German employment law: Termination, medical certificates by phone and latest topics

Termination in case of the threat of taking sick leave Employees who respond to an instruction by their employer with the threat of taking sick leave can be dismissed without notice. It is irrelevant whether the employee actually falls ill later or whether the instruction by the employer was unlawful. In a recent decision, the … Continue reading

Preparing to return to the workplace: What should German employers be doing?

By Stefanie Radina on June 2, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany

Public life is slowly returning to normality in Germany as stores, restaurants and cafes begin to reopen. However, a return to ”business as usual“ seems a long way off. Companies and employers need to consider different priorities and complex provisions when preparing the return to the workplace. In general, employers have a duty to take … Continue reading

Key developments expected for 2019

By Olivia Reinke on February 26, 2019 Posted in Europe, Germany

At the beginning of 2019, some important key changes to German labor law came into force. In particular, there were significant changes to the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Work Act, which are described in more detail in the following article. On 1 January 2019, section 9a was newly inserted into the Part-Time Work and Fixed-Term Employment … Continue reading