Often, international companies are surprised that under German law certain employment law documents need to be wet-ink signed (handwritten) in order to be enforceable. Failure to comply with this requirement may have significant consequences – a dismissal notice, for example, which has not been wet-ink signed is invalid and does not terminate an employment relationship. …
The SARS-Cov-2-Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance ( cf. our blog entry of 23 March 2021 and 22 April 2021 which was due to expire on 10 September 2021 has been amended and extended until 24 November 2021 (“Amended Ordinance”). In recent weeks, public life has slowly opened up in Germany again with a lot of …
Accompanied by demonstrations in Berlin, on 21 April 2021, the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) has passed further legislation as a measure against rising infection numbers. The draft of the legislative act, commonly referred to as the Fourth Act on the Protection Of The Population (“Viertes Bevölkerungsschutzgesetz”, Act), includes regulations for both the private as well …
Not in my House – yet another update on German Covid-19 legislation Read More »
As part of a judgement dated 25 February 2021 (docket number: 17 Sa 37/20), the Baden-Wuerttemberg Labour Court of Appeals (the second out of three levels of the German labor court system) has clarified the requirements for an entitlement to immaterial damages in cases of a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Over …
Go west – damages for transferring personal employee data to the US? Read More »
The ongoing quest to combat and prevent the further spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is currently impaired by the emergence and propagation of more dangerous virus variants. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Ministry) has identified frequent testing in occupational environments as a means to prevent the spread of the virus earlier and …
The German administration no longer plans to implement “days of rest” over the Easter Break. The proposal was withdrawn shortly after it was announced due to legal and factual problems relating to the implementation of such days of rest. Chancellor Angela Merkel apologized to the German public for the confusion caused by the announcement. Both …
The joint video conference of chancellor Angela Merkel and the ministers for the German states resulted in a resolution (“Resolution”) which, at least in part, will need to be implemented by further legislative action at both state and federal level. For employers, the following issues are of relevance: May I open my business and have …
The Covid-19 Resolution of 22 March 2021 and its implications for employers Read More »
In light of the continuously tense situation in the health care system due to the Covid-19 pandemic and steadily high infection figures, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has issued an ordinance on occupational health and safety (“SARS-CoV-2 Arbeitsschutzverordnung“, SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance) which will become effective on 27 January 2021. …
SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance Read More »
The problem In the year 2018 8,3 % of all German employees worked on the basis of a fixed term employment contract. Various rules apply to this kind of employment and breaching one of them often leads to the employment contract being indefinite. One of the most important rules is the time limit on fixed-term …
(Not) nice seeing you again? Federal Labour Court decides on fixed-term employment Read More »
On 14 May 2019, the ECJ held (docket no. C-55/18), that Member States must oblige employers by law to set up a system for recording the time worked each day. In proceedings between the Federatión de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) – a Spanish Union – and Deutsche Bank SAE concerning the lack of a …
Member States must require employers to set up a time recording system Read More »
The German parliament has recently passed a law which amends the current Part-Time and Fixed-Term Act and will likely enter into force on 1 January 2019. Under the new law (so-called bridge-part-time-work), employees have the right to work part-time for a period of one to five years (“Part-Time-Period”) and return to full-time after the Part-Time-Period …
Right of part-time employees to return to full-time Read More »
The attainment of age 60 can be agreed as an age limit in a service agreement allowing for the termination of the contract. This was decided by the Hamm Higher Regional Court in a judgment dated 19 June 2017, docket number 8 U 18/17. Such an age limit does not violate the General Equal Treatment …
Employers may grant their employees bonuses in addition to fixed basic salary for a variety of reasons, for example, to reward performance, loyalty to the company or just as a Christmas gratuity. In this context different questions arise. This two-part post addresses the most common questions regarding bonus and commission payments. What are the …
Ins and Outs of Bonus and Commission Payments – Part I Read More »
Almost three months after the general election, the biggest political parties CDU/CSU and SPD have agreed to form a joint administration under the lead of Chancellor Angela Merkel. In a 185-page coalition agreement named “Shaping Germany`s Future” the parties have specified their plans and contemplated actions in respect of the forthcoming legislative period. In this post …
Details of how Mrs Merkel’s new administration wants to be “Shaping Germany’s Future” Read More »
The Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) ruled on November 13, 2013 (docket number – 10 AZR 848/12) that employers cannot validly exclude grants of special payments such as Christmas bonuses in their regulations with respect to employees whose employment ended during the calendar year, if such bonus shall not only reward company loyalty but also …
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