Holiday and leave entitlement in German labour law

The leave entitlement is regulated by the employment contract. The tariff regulations apply. According to the German Federal Leave Act, an employee is entitled to at least four weeks’ leave per year. This is equivalent to 24 working days or 20 working days for a 5-days week. However, the employee must first acquire his days off: he must be from six months in the employment relationship, and then he is entitled to his days off. During the first six months, he may apply for partial leave. Differences between “working days” (Arbeitstagen) and “business days” (Werktagen) Business days are all days Read more…

Salary under German labour law (without minimum remuneration)

The amount of an employee´s wage (remuneration, salary) is agreed between the employee and the employer before the beginning of the employment. The earned income is stated in the employment contract. Otherwise the tariff or company regulations apply. Holiday pay and Christmas bonuses Holiday pays or Christmas bonuses are “gratifications” from the employer. These allowances depend on the past and future fidelity of the employer. If the employee, for example, terminates their employment relationship, he may have to repay a portion of the gratuities.T he 13th monthly salary is a special payment that is intended to repay past performances. The Read more…

Time limit of the employment contract

The employer may limit the employment contract to two years, in case of a new employment relationship. Limitation Conditions The following conditions must be respected for shorter time limits: The company has only temporary needs for work. The employee is hired following an education or study. This facilitates the transition to subsequent employments. It is a place of representation (pregnancy or leave of absence) The nature of the work performance justifies the time limit. The time limit has been allowed. Reasons in the person of the employee justifying a time limit. The employee is remunerated from the budget. These are Read more…

Employment agreement

In an employment contract are formulated the rights and obligations of a working relationship between employer and employee. The following points are important parts of an employment contract: What? – Description of the tasks which the employer can assign to the employee Where? – Definition of the place where the employee would work When? – Determination of the working time of the worker How long? – Information on the periods of notice and, possibly, on the expiration of the employment contract. The employment contract is also subject to statutory, business and, where applicable, tariff regulations. Have your employment contract examined Read more…

Working hours in Germany

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…

Reasons for dismissal under German labour law

The reasons for a termination are divided in the following areas: Grounds for dismissal: Extraordinary and immediate termination: Ordinary termination with period of notice Notice of termination for reasons of conduct Special reasons are required With previous warnings Dismissal on personal grounds With no warnings Forced redundancies Operational circumstances are required Notice of termination for reasons of conduct Notices of termination for reasons of conduct are the result of employee’s misconduct. In the event of a breaching of the rules, the employer is first entitled to warn the employee. After repeated warnings, if the situation does not change, there are Read more…

Period of notice to terminate an employment contract in Germany

Employee  The employer or employee may terminate at the end of a calendar month (or on the 15th). The period of notice is then four weeks. Example: Employee announces the termination on March 26, 2018. The end of a calendar month is on March 31, 2018. He leaves on April 30, 2018. In his letter of dismissal of March 26, 2018 it must be written that his last day is on April 30, 2018. Employer The same periods of notice apply to the employer. The period of notice depends on the duration of the working relationship: Duration of  the working Read more…

Immediate termination of an employment contract in Germany

Extraordinary and immediate terminations can conclude the employment relationship without observing particular deadline or periods of notice. Both employees and employers can terminate an employment relationship without previous notice. The prerequisite for an extraordinary termination of the contract is a particularly important reason for leaving. When is the extraordinary and immediate termination of the employment contract legally effective? The person that is interrupting the employment relations has to present a notice of termination within two weeks after the important fact (reason for leaving) has been recognized. The notification has to be provided in written form; In addition, he/she must obtain Read more…

Warning letter under labour law

In sport, the referee shows yellow and red cards to alert the players of their misconduct. “If you do not follow the rules, you are out! “ A similar system has been created also in the legal world, and that is represented by the “warnings”. A warning letter is similar to a yellow card. A warning is therefore to point out wrong behaviours or bad performances and eventual warn of dismissal.What many do not know, is that warnings are often incorrectly formulated and for this reason legally vulnerable!If you receive a warning, immediately call an attorney! What is to be observed Read more…

Protection against dismissal under German labour law

The regulations on protection against dismissal should give stability and security to the employment relationship. If all conditions for termination have been complied with in all points, the termination is considered effective. Lawsuit against unfair dismissal The employee may file complaint against unfair dismissal at the German Labour Court (Arbeitsgericht in German). If the employee asserts that a termination is socially unjustified or is legally ineffective for other reasons, he has the chance to file a lawsuit within three weeks after the receipt of the written notice of dismissal. In the event of dismissal for variation of the contract, legal Read more…