Dr. André Zimmermann, a Certified Specialist for Employment Law (Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht) and partner at Orrick's Düsseldorf office, heads Orrick’s employment law practice in Germany. André has been advising on complex employment law issues for more than 15 years, with a focus on the employment law aspects of M&A transactions, restructurings and headcount reductions, and a special sector focus on technology companies.
André advises companies of all stages, pre-IPO startups, scaleups, unicorns and international corporations on a wide range of matters, having handled everything from day-to-day practical advice tailored to his clients’ needs, to complex multi-jurisdictional transactions from strategic planning through post-merger integration. Having long-standing experience in negotiating with works councils and unions in restructuring measures of all kind, a special focus of André's practice is on restructurings and headcount reductions.
He has advised on the employment law aspects in over 300 M&A transactions and financing rounds across various industries. Transactional advice includes employment law advice in complex, international technology transactions, M&A projects as well as private equity and venture capital investments, from due diligence to post-closing integration.
André has thorough knowledge of and a genuine passion for the tech industry. Over the last years, André has become the go-to-advisor of several Bay Area tech-companies, leaders in their market and high-growth tech companies. Most recently, he has advised leading global technology companies such as GoPro, Pinterest, GitHub, Nvidia, Sabre, Snap and Splunk on various employment matters.
André has received several awards for his work, inter alia:
Clients recommend André to JUVE as “straight shooter" and "always refreshingly honest". Our clients praise his "creative and efficient style of working" and "a very practical and efficient style of providing advice", referring to him as "extremely responsive and always accessible" and as "an excellent advocate in court hearings". Clients appreciate André's "clear, sound and pragmatic real-world advice" and his "in-depth knowledge of the tech employment world".
According to a recent decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (May 14, 2019 – C‑55/18), the Member States of the EU must oblige employers to systematically record the working time of their employees. Only in this way can it be ensured and enforced that the working time rules are observed and that the intended health protection of the employees is guaranteed. READ MORE
Very recently, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that an automatic forfeiture of vacation entitlements or vacation compensation entitlements without prior notification of the employee contravenes EU law. The German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) now has joined this case law in its decision of February 19, 2019. This requires employers to take action. READ MORE
Undoubtedly driven by an interest in drawing UK-based banks to Frankfurt and becoming an EU hub for US banks post-Brexit, the German government recently picked up a proposal to relax dismissal protection for high-earning bankers. So it may very well soon be easier for banks in Frankfurt to part with their top employees. READ MORE
Every Chinese investor not only needs to be aware of cultural differences when considering investing in Germany, but also has to have a basic understanding of legal issues.
German employment law provides for a good level of employee protection, for example in case of termination of employment. Being familiar with some basic principles of German employment law can help Chinese investors avoid pitfalls that may lead to severe sanctions by authorities as well as financial obligations towards employees.
Our Orrick Germany China Desk gives a brief outline of German employment law and what Chinese investors and businesses investing or doing business in Germany need to know in our bilingual English-Chinese guideline.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht – BVerfG) has overturned the controversial case law of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) on fixed-term contracts. The controversial judgment handed down by the BAG in 2011 with regard to what is known as the “prohibition of subsequent contracts” exceeds the limits of what is permitted under the German constitution in terms of judge-made law.
Back in 2011 the BAG had decided that a previous employment with the same employer did not preclude a fixed-term contract without objective justification as per section 14(2) of the German Act on Part-Time Work and Fixed-Term Employment (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz – TzBfG), provided that such previous employment dates back more than three years. The Federal Constitutional Court has now quashed this case-law. This is expected to have substantial repercussions in practice.
After months of exhausting, on-off negotiations with changing negotiation partners at the table, on February 7, 2018 Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed on a new coalition agreement for a third grand coalition – usually referred to as “GroKo” in Germany. The deal has been formally approved by the 460,000 SPD members in a postal vote; the new government has taken up work a couple of weeks ago. READ MORE
After months of exhausting, on-off negotiations with changing negotiation partners at the table, Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed on a new coalition agreement for a third grand coalition – usually referred to as “GroKo” in Germany. The deal still has now been formally approved by the 460,000 SPD members in a postal vote, the new government has taken up work a couple of days ago. Our previous blog gives a summary of upcoming changes for employers that are addressed in the coalition agreement. READ MORE
In Germany, regular works council elections are held every four years. The next election period is quickly approaching, starting on March 1, 2018.
Companies with business in Germany should prepare for the election process and employee initiatives to elect a works council. Our bilingual guide, based on years of experience, provides practical tips and legal considerations, navigates you through the election process and helps you avoid pitfalls that can be costly.
To access the full guide, please click here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to André Zimmermann, Head of our German Employment Law Practice, or Mike Delikat, Chair of our Global Employment Law Practice.
After Germany’s general election, a “Jamaica” alliance could soon rule Germany, being mathematically possible and, after the Social democrats SPD announced their return to opposition, only viable option not involving the right-wing AfD.
What’s in a Name?
A “Jamaica” alliance is named after the colors of the parties involved: Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) (black), the Free Democratic Party FDP (yellow) and the Green Party (green). The term likely also refers to the “exotic” nature of such an alliance (at least from a German point of view), even though there have been “Jamaica” governments on state level before. Such coalition certainly will face challenges to find a common ground – and a coalition agreement. READ MORE
