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Build a German employment relationship on terms your managers can actually use. We draft and review contracts, policies and offer documents for international employers and German businesses.
What we help you decide
Hire and employ staff. We assess the relevant documents, explain the available routes and agree the scope of advice before taking further steps.
From offer to the first working day
A global contract template rarely deals adequately with German notice provisions, standard-terms control, working time and collective rules. Start with the role, workplace, reporting line, remuneration and intended duration. Separate contractual promises from policies that need to remain adaptable. A probation clause does not remove statutory rights or make every dismissal lawful.
Terms that deserve individual drafting
Review bonus targets, overtime, mobility, remote work, confidentiality, intellectual property, inventions, secondary activities and post-contractual restrictions. An English contract can be useful for an international team, but the employee must understand the obligations. The controlling-language clause needs to reflect how the agreement will be administered.
Form and evidence
The contract and the statutory record of essential terms are different documents in legal terms. Electronic delivery of the record is possible only within the applicable conditions and exceptions. Fixed-term agreements and termination documents require their own form analysis. Do not assume that a scanned signature or routine electronic signature is sufficient.
Practical example
A UK company hires its first salesperson in Germany. Before the offer is signed, we check the employing entity, applicable law, commission rules, travel obligations and payroll interfaces. The resulting documents should give HR a workable process for onboarding, changes and exit.
Documents for an initial review
- Draft offer and global template
- Role, workplace and planned start date
- Bonus, equity and policy documents
- Applicable collective and works agreements
Related advice
Working time, overtime and remote work · Pay, bonuses, equal pay and benefits · Employee inventions, confidentiality and non-compete clauses · Employment contract form and essential terms · All employment law services · Discuss your matter
Legal sources
Reviewed: 8 November 2026. The application of these rules depends on the facts, the relevant documents and any applicable collective arrangements.