Germany: Contract of Employment

In our article on the German Federal Labor Court’s press release of 25 March 2026 (5 AZR 108/25), we discussed why blanket garden leave clauses may be unenforceable. The Court’s published reasoning now provides further guidance on drafting garden leave clauses, placing employees on garden leave in individual cases, and revoking company car benefits during the notice period.

Germany's coalition government has proposed sweeping reforms to employment law that could fundamentally reshape fixed-term contracts, dismissal protection, co-determination rights, and sick leave reporting. The measures aim to strengthen Germany's competitiveness amid technological change, demographic pressure, and international competition, offering employers significantly expanded flexibility while tightening certain compliance requirements.

Many companies regard the German Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz – BetrVG) as outdated and overly restrictive. This applies in particular to international groups that are unfamiliar with German co-determination structures or whose domestic rules differ fundamentally from the German legal framework.

Germany's coalition committee has agreed to introduce a relief bonus of up to €1,000 for employees, similar to the inflation compensation bonus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers will likely be able to grant this special payment with tax and social security privileges, though specific design details are still pending.

Die aktuell laufenden Betriebsratswahlen sind für uns Anlass, dieses Mal einen besonderen Blick auf Fragen rund um das Wahlverfahren und mögliche Wahlanfechtungen zu werfen.

Technological progress offers employees and employers increasing opportunities for flexible employment arrangements.

Six million employees were on short-time work (›Kurzarbeit‹) in spring 2020. 45.5 billion euros were spent by the German government on short-time work benefits between 2020 and 2022.

Alle 12 Minuten werden in Deutschland rund 107 neue Arbeitsverträge abgeschlossen.* Klingt beeindruckend! Noch beeindruckender ist der bürokratische Aufwand, der mit jeder Neueinstellung verbunden ist

Das Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG) stellt klar, dass Teilzeitbeschäftigte bei Überstunden genauso behandelt werden müssen wie Vollzeitkräfte. Wer Unterschiede macht, braucht eine stichhaltige Begründung (Urt. v. 05.12.2024, Az. 8 AZR 370/20). Der Blogbeitrag zeigt auf, welche Maßnahmen Arbeitgeber jetzt ergreifen können.