coalition agreement

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court Revises Case Law on Fixed-Term Contracts

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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.

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Frankfurt’s Brexit Pitch – Loosened Dismissal Protection for High-Earning Bankers in Germany on the Horizon?

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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 →

“Temporary Employees” in Germany need to be Temporary under New Draft Law

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After a long wait the time has finally come: the draft ministerial bill regarding the reform of the German Act on the Supply of Temporary Employees (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz – AÜG) is out. On November 16, 2015, the draft bill entered “early coordination,” i.e. a period of coordination with the Office of the Federal Chancellor prior to coordination between the various ministerial departments. The cabinet decision is due by the end of the year. The law is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2017.

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