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WORK-Ways in Germany: Homeoffice, Heimarbeit, Telearbeit…

WORK-Ways in Germany: Homeoffice, Heimarbeit, Telearbeit… Working in Germany? That’s something you should know. Various terms circulate for the actual  “working from home”. Legally, however, there can be crucial differences between home office, telework and working from home. Home office has been the norm for many people during the pandemic. People often speak synonymously of “working from home”, “teleworking” or “mobile working” when they are talking about working from home. However, when it comes to written agreements with the employer or even a legal right to home office, the correct term is crucial. Because legally there are sometimes major differences.There Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Part-Time Employees Discrimination? Not in Germany

BAG v. 15.10.2021 – 6 AZR 253/19 No discrimination against part-time employees & the TVöD-K Regulation  The case concerns a german nurse/caregiver suing against the clinic she has been working for severals years. as a part-time nurse with a weekly working time of 32 hours. She works alternating shifts and shifts according to a duty roster for the month. Due to the fact that both parties are bound by collective agreements, the provisions of an in-house collective agreement of 19 January 2017 apply, which in turn refers to the TVöD-K in the version applicable at that time for the remuneration of overtime Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Working hours under German labour law

Working hours and allowed breaks When should you start working? How many breaks do you have? How long does your break last? How have your working hours been distributed throughout the whole week? All those information will be provided to you in your contract of employment. Daily working time According to the Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz), the maximum working time per day is eight hours. This time can be extended to up to ten hours. Prerequisite: in six months (24 weeks) the average of your working hours should not exceed 8 hours a day. Breaks and rest periods According to Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Renting a flat by your employer: take or toss?

We have all heard of/or lived such a situation once in our lifetime, in person of through friends or family members. There is going to be a big change in your work life and your new employer asks you to leave your home and go and live near to the new workplace. Actually, a practical solution, if you think about all the stress trying to search for a new flat in a new place and started to move without knowing if the new job is exactly what you were hoping to be. What happen however to your partner/spouse/children if you Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Life Insurance Laws

Going home from work is not automatically covered by life insurance Federal Social Court of Kassel (Case B 2 U 9/19 R) Sometimes life does not go as planned. The case we are reviewing with you today is unfortunately concerning the tragic car accident of Hannes Hanke. The Case:  Mr. Hanke used to work as a chemical worker in his hometown in Germany. One day, just like many others, leaves Mr. Hanke his workplace, leaves the machine running, doesn’t say goodbye to his colleagues and doesn’t log off at the working hours file record. He usually calls his wife before Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Reference certificate free sample

Reference certificate   Introduction Personal data and length of employment relationship Job Description Workplace, position and competencies of the employee Performance Evaluation Mrs. … / Mr. … has always done the tasks assigned to him / her to our absolute satisfaction. (Very good) Mrs. … / Mr. … has always done the tasks assigned to him / her to our full satisfaction. (Good) Mrs. … / Mr. … has done the tasks assigned to him / her to our full satisfaction. (Satisfying) Mrs. … / Mr. … has done the tasks assigned to him to our satisfaction. (Sufficient)   Behavioral Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Termination agreement related to an employment contract

Template This is only a template of an employment termination agreement and shall be modified and adapted to your situation and needs. Termination Agreement Between the <Employer > and <Employee> § 1 Consensual termination of the employment relationship The parties agree that the employment relationship terminates by mutual agreement as requested by the employer on <date>. The employment relationship ends in compliance with the normal period of notice. Reason is the operational cessation of the job. §  2  Handling of open holiday leaves entitlement Holiday leaves entitlements arising from the termination of the employee’s employment relationship are granted to the Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Warning letter under German labour law

Template This is only a template of a notice of warning and shall be modified and adapted to your situation and needs. <Sender> <Recipient> Notice of Warning <Date> Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. <Surname>, We unfortunately have to communicate you that we are aware of the following: <Description of the misconduct> By doing so, you have violated an obligation under the employment contract, <name / clause>. Your misconduct leads us to this notice of warning. We hereby expressly inform you that we are not prepared to accept further breaches of duty.In case of another misconduct or illegal behavior, we will be ready to Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Reference codes in Germany

The contents of a German work reference (Zeugnissprache) are generally standard formulations used in qualified certificates. They enable employers to make a final assessment of the conduct and performances of the employee. The standard patterns of these work references are constantly changing, so that no fixed sample is possible. Reference codes in Germany Examples of evaluations using German “reference codes” explicated in English: Work performances [Arbeitsleistung] Organization at work and achievements [Arbeitsweise und -erfolg] Behavior with superiors, subordinate employees, colleagues and customers [Verhalten gegenüber Vorgesetzen und Mitarbeitern] Leadership qualities [Führungsqualitäten] Credits [Danksagungen] Termination [Trennungsformeln] Hidden Information [Versteckte Hinweise]   Work Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago

Employment references

Job references Employees and freelance employees are entitled to a certificate called in Germany “Zeugnis”. The prerequisite is a permanent employment relationship so that the assessor has enough time to recognize the professional and personal qualities of the employee. Person entitled to issue the reference certificate „Zeugnis“  The only person entitled to issue the reference certificate is the employer, but a superior of the employee can also take the assessment. Exhibitor of the certificate is the employer, but a superior of the employee can also take the assessment. It is important that the assessor is instructed to do so from Read more…

By horak Attorneys at law, ago