Legislation

Planned Novelties in Employment and Social Law through German “Social Pact II”

The CDU/CSU and SPD parliamentary groups have introduced a new package of laws into the German Bundestag containing important labour and social regulations, which will be passed in the near future. This package again contains numerous changes in labour and social law. Further measures are to be taken to cushion the economic and social hardships …

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New legislation during the pandemic: Online court hearings at labour and social courts

At the moment, hearings at the labour and social courts are largely suspended. This is problematic in so far as it mostly concerns existential questions such as the existence of an employment relationship or a claim for wage payment as well as collective issues. These questions require a quick decision. Particularly in proceedings for protection …

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Update on local legislation implementing the Directive on the Posting of Workers

On 12 February 2020 the German Federal Cabinet adopted a draft law to implement the revised European Directive on the Posting of Workers in the framework of the provision of services. The revision of the Directive entered into force on 29 July 2018 after lengthy negotiations in Brussels (Directive 2018/957/EU amending Directive 96/71/EC). The revision …

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New German law shall prevent crisis in labour market

For years, the German labour market prospered, mass unemployment was not at all a problem, in fact it was difficult to find qualified employees. However, the times of sustained growth may soon be over. The ifo business climate index has been decreasing for the last couple of months and the German economy shrank slightly in …

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Change in Work Constitution Act to Increase Employee Representation

Following a legislative reform earlier this year, flight crews’ rights to obtain employee representation through a works council have been improved. While employees from (almost) all fields of work can choose to elect a works council, sec. 117 of the Works Constitution Act formerly provided for an exemption for flight crews. Flight crews were only …

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Crowd Working and the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive

On 16 April the European Parliament voted to approve the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive, which is aimed at strengthening the rights of workers and improving working conditions by promoting more transparent and predictable employment whilst ensuring labour market adaptability. The Directive applies in particular to platform workers (aka crowd workers), but also covers …

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Change of case law for time limit contracts – Time limit without reason in case of previous employment always inadmissible

  I. General Problems of time limit contracts The agreement on a time limit for the employment contract often leads to problems in practical use. Caution is, however, required, since a fixed term is only permitted under special statutory conditions. If these reasons are not available and nevertheless a – impermissible – time limit is …

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Commission adopts proposals for a European Labour Authority

The European Commission is taking more concrete new initiatives to further deliver on the European Pillar of Social Rights. More specifically, the Commission has presented its proposal for a European Labour Authority, as announced by President Juncker in 2017, as well as an initiative to ensure access to social protection for all workers and self-employed. …

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Return from part-time to full time employment – new legislative initiative planned to become effective in 2019

Not long ago, the former German government failed to implement a right to return from part-time to full-time employment for employees. In May 2017, former German Secretary of Employment, Andrea Nahles, had to admit that her party’s plan to strengthen employee rights had not been implemented. Just recently, the tide has turned: After the new …

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Employment Law in the New Coalition Agreement – What plans does the new German Government have?

Finally, Germany gets a new government – that is sure since the membership decision of the Social Democrats (SPD) ended successfully. Already on 7th February, the SPD and the Christian Democrats (CDU) had agreed on a coalition agreement in which they plan important projects for the next four years. Of course, this 179-page contract also …

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Hurdles at the temporal limits of work contracts – When is a fixed-term contract valid?

In practice, fixed-term contracts lead to practical problems in a large number of cases. On the one hand, this is because they demand a variety of formalities (see our article from July 24 ). On the other hand, however, it is even more difficult to determine whether it is possible to limit the work contract …

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New Act on Remuneration Transparency

Following up our blog post from December 19, 2016 where we reported about a legislative proposal to promote equal pay between women and men, the Remuneration Transparency Act has now entered into force. Arguing that women still earn 7 % less than men even if statistics account for women frequently working part-time, less often climbing …

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Update on reforms of the Maternity Protection Act

Following up on one of our blog posts last May, the German Parliament approved reforms of the Maternity Protection Act on 30 March 2017. The reforms are, however, still subject to the approval of the German Federal Council. One of the key changes will be an extension of the scope of protection, as a result …

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Revision of the Law on Temporary Work from 1 April 2017

The German Parliament (Bundestag), with the approval of the Federal Council (Bundesrat), has passed amendments to the “Law on Temporary Work”. The new rules will enter into force on 1 April 2017 and do not only have impact on leasing personnel but also on work and service contracts. The key changes introduced by the reform …

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