German Employment Law

Module 1: General introduction

• Employee - definition - facts & figures
  • Labour market - social security / cost
  • Types of employment
  • Employee protection laws (overview)
  • Freelance and (fraudulent) pseudo-freelance

• Employer - definition - facts & figures
  • Labour market - types of employers
  • No automatic applicability of collective bargaining agreements
  • Freedom of contractPrivileges for small employers
  • Privileges for foreign employers

• Trade unions & works council
  • Trade unions
  • Role of trade union compared to works council
  • Works council
  • Election of works council
  • Co-determination rights of works council

• Conflict resolution
  • Institutions: labour court & conciliation board
  • Labour Court: procedure and facts & figures
  • Conciliation board: non-public conflict resolution

Module 2: Recruitment & conclusion of employment contract

• Hiring - principle of free choice
  • Freedom of contract versus anti-discrimination laws
  • Obligation to employ disabled persons?
  • Obligation to contact work agency?
  • Advertisement & other forms of recruitment

• Hiring - sources of information
  • Interview & questionnaires - do's and don'ts
  • References - importance and how to read
  • External information sources
  • Processing of personal data - data protection law

• Conclusion of employment contract
  • Material conditions
  • Formal conditions
  • Engagement letter?
  • Fixed-term and non-fixed-term contract
  • Fixed-term with / without specific reason
  • Temporary work contract

• Works council's rights related to hiring
  • Obligation to inform works council on envisaged hiring
  • Necessity of works council's consent to employ hired person
  • Resolution of possible conflict
  • Questionnaires / selection directives: need for works council's consent

Module 3: General principles & employee's duties

• Rules governing the employment relationship
  • Basis: The employment contract
  • Other applicable rules
  • Hierarchy of rules in the employment relationship and other principles

• Employee's duties - duty to work
  • Principle: without work no remuneration
  • The right person
  • At the right time
  • At the right placeIn the right mannerRefusal to follow directions/orders and consequences

• Employee's duties - duty to be loyal
  • Safeguard employer's rights and interests
  • Whistleblowing - rights and duties

• Employee's duties - duty of confidentiality
  • General duty of confidentiality
  • The new act for the protection of business secrets(Geschäftsgeheimnisgesetz)
  • Contractual clauses

• Employee's duties - duty not to compete
  • During the employment relationship
  • After the end of the employment relationship
  • Duty of non-solicitation
  • Contractual agreements and limits
  • Compensation for non-competition (Karenzentschädigung)

• Reduced employee's liability in case of breach of duty
  • Light negligence
  • "Medium" negligence
  • Gross negligence
  • Grossest negligenceIntentional breach of duty

Module 4: Employer's duties

• Employer's main duties - duty to employ and to pay remuneration
  • Duty to employ - main duty eual to payment, judicial control of garden leave clauses/practice
  • Duty to pay remuneration - fixed remuneration, 13th salary, premiums / variable pay, statutory minimum pay, branch minimum pay, transparency of pay act (Entgelttransparenzgesetz)

• Employer's duties - work time act
  • Maximum legal average work time and daily work time
  • Breaks and daily time off
  • Sundays and public holidays
  • Record of work time
  • Premiums/supplements for overtime work?

• Employer's duties - sick pay and statutory holiday pay
  • Right to receive sick pay and statutory holiday pay
  • Duration, conditions
  • Calculation, partial re-imbursement for small employers
  • No termination during illness?

• Employer's duties - paid holidayLegal minimum and practice in germany
  • Calculation of payment
  • Transmission to following year(s)

Module 4: Employer's duties (continuation)

• Employer's Duties - maternity protection
  • Maternity leave (beginning / end, conditions)
  • Prohibitions to work during maternity
  • Payment of remuneration during maternity leave
  • Protection against dismissal

• Employer's duties - parental leave
  • Parental leaveRequest for parental leave (conditions, timing)
  • Parental money (elterngeld)
  • Protection against dismissal

• Employer's duties - care leave/ family care leave
  • Request for care leave / family care leave
  • Paid short-term care / unpaid long-term care / part time work during family care leave
  • Protection against dismissal

• Employer's duties - part time
  • Conditions to ask for part time
  • Conditions for refusal by employer and procedure for negotiation
  • Entitlement to fixed-term part time ("Brückenteilzeit")

Module 5: Termination of the employment relationship

• Types of end of contract
  • Death of employeeExpiry of fixed-term contract
  • Contract of termination
  • Notice of termination by employee (resignation)
  • Notice of termination by employer (dismissal)
  • Legal consequences of illegal dismissal

• Formal (non-)requirements for termination
  • Legal written form and reception by employee
  • Non-requirements

• Material requirements (ordinary termination)
  • Respect of notice period
  • Prior and correct hearing of works council
  • Existence of a legitimate cause for dismissal - dismissal for conduct related reasons, dismissal for reasons related to the person of employee, dismissal for operational reasons

• Material requirements (extraordinary termination)
  • Prior and correct hearing of works council
  • Existence of an "important cause"Two-weeks' deadline

• Special rules for mass / collective dismissal
  • Obligations under "mass dismissal" procedure
  • Conciliation of interests and social plan

• Special protection against dismissal
  • Selected cases of special protection
  • Varying form and content of special protection