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, 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.
The German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) has ruled that when an employer provides Facebook users access to publish posts on the company’s Facebook page that relate to the behavior or performance of individual employees, that process is subject to negotiation and co-determination of the works council.
The ruling is of particular significance especially for companies with an existing works council in Germany that operate a Facebook page or a page on a similar social network with a commenting function for users.
Just in time for the 10th anniversary of the German General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz – AGG) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified that European anti-discrimination law does not protect mock applicants, i.e. applicants who are not interested in being hired, but solely apply in order to bring claims on the grounds of discrimination. The judgment will make it easier for companies in Europe to reject such discrimination claims in the future.
Last week, Germany’s Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) unveiled a centralized platform for receiving whistleblower complaints, including anonymous complaints, of alleged violations of supervisory provisions within the financial sector. The move appears to represent a shift in German ideology toward a more favorable view of anonymous reporting, which for many years was discouraged in Germany and more broadly in the EU due to the risk of “organized systems of denouncement.” Under the new program, whistleblowers may submit reports in writing (on paper or electronically), by phone (with or without recording the conversation), or verbally. BaFin’s press release announcing the program states that it will make the anonymity of whistleblowers a “top priority,” and that it will not pass on the identity of whistleblowers to third parties. The program is “aimed at person with a special knowledge of a company’s internal affairs – for example because they are employed there or have some other contractual relationship or relationship of trust with the company.”
BaFin was required to implement this new platform due to an amendment to the German Act on Financial Services Supervision. Notably, the Act only applies to the financial services sector, not including external accountants, tax consultants and attorneys. It provides that employees working in the financial services sector may not be held liable for reporting potential or actual breaches of law under either employment law or criminal law, unless the report was false or grossly negligent.
On June 1, 2016, the draft law regarding the reform of the German Act on the Supply of Temporary Employees (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz – AÜG) has been adopted by the Federal Cabinet. The German Bundestag will address the draft law after the summer break. However, material changes to the draft are not expected to be made during the parliamentary process. If the time schedule will be observed, the reform will come into force as planned on January 1, 2017.
The new law will bring material changes for both, employment agencies and their customers, the host businesses.
