French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. They were supplemented by a number of
Under German law, an employer can only suspend an employee in certain cases. One of the core obligations of the employment relationship is an obligation on the employer to provide the employee with relevant work to be performed. If it fails to do so without justification, it must nevertheless continue to pay the employee. Notwithstanding
In Germany, an employer must comply with certain consultation obligations when dismissing an employee. Failure to do so may result in the dismissal being held null and void by a labour court or the court awarding compensation to the affected employees.
The works council and dismissals
Prior to giving notice of termination, an employer must
General comments
Under French employment law, employees’ representatives benefit from a right to be consulted on a very wide range of matters concerning the running of the company. In particular, the works council must be informed and consulted on any matter relating to the organisation, the management and the general running of the company, which
As discussed in my post of 28 May 2014, the German Federal Labour Court was about to decide on a case where a member of the works council claimed against her employer for an employment unlimited in time after the expiration of her agreed fixed-term employment contract. The decision is now available.
The Federal
Recently, a German Higher Labour Court had to decide on the following question: Where an employee becomes a member of the works council during his/her fixed term, is or can an employment unlimited in time be created automatically at the end of that fixed term?
Generally speaking, an employer can agree a fixed term for
In Germany, a number of employees’ rights and employers’ obligations depend on specific thresholds regarding the number of employees assigned to a business unit or a company. The German Federal Labour Court recently decided two cases with regard to agency workers and their effect on dismissal protection and on the number of works council members