Health

Is it really better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission? – yet another update on German Covid-19 legislation

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 …

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Testing, not resting – Obligation to offer tests under the newly amended SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance

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 …

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Annual Leave: Does the law require employers to remind sick employees to take vacation?

On 7 June 2020, the German Federal Labor Court (FLC) (docket number 9 AZR 401/19) referred a question regarding the compatibility of the expiry of vacation entitlements with EU law to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for preliminary ruling. This is likely to eliminate remaining legal uncertainties in relation to permanently sick employee’s vacation …

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Which measures for occupational health and safety are required in the current situation?

Whereas it has previously been necessary to fall back on general principles when planning occupational health and safety measures, Federal Minister of Labour, Mr Heil has now specified these in more detail on 16 April 2020 and has thus established guidelines for (physical) cooperation. The requirements set out here must already be complied with by …

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Works Council’s right to know about work accidents also extends to external staff

According to a judgment by the Federal Labour Court, the works council may request information about work accidents suffered by individuals who are employed by an external party, if these works accidents were suffered in connection with the operational infrastructure (judgment dated 12 March 2019, docket number 1 ABR 48/17). The company, a delivery service …

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Occupational health and safety standards as a limit to the employer’s right to issue instructions

The allocation of a job which does not meet the requirements of Sec. 618 para. 1 German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) in conjunction with the public occupational health and safety standards may nevertheless correspond to the employer’s equitable discretion if it concerns only minor or short-term infringements which cannot cause lasting damage. This is …

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Employer obligation to provide individual target agreements to safety authority

Employers may be required to provide safety authorities with information on individual target agreements with their employees. In a judgment dated 28 February 2018, the Dusseldorf administrative court confirmed a corresponding order by the local safety authority (docket number 29 K 4191/16). In the case at hand, the employer offers consulting services. It is bound …

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Threat to commit suicide or to run amok can justify a dismissal for cause with immediate effect

On 29 June 2017 the Federal Labour Court decided that a serious threat of committing suicide or to run amok can be a compelling reason to terminate an employment relationship for cause with immediate effect if the employee thereby seeks to exert pressure on the employer (docket number 2 AZR 47/16). The employee and later …

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Sick is sick

The Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) ruled on 2 November 2016 (docket number: 10 AZR 596/15) that an employee who is incapable of work for health reasons does not need to come into the office for a personnel meeting requested by the employer. In this case the employer called the sick employee into the office twice …

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