Labour law changes in 2024

Key Legislative Changes in 2024 Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG IV): From January 1, 2025, essential terms of employment can be provided electronically (e.g., via email) instead of requiring signed paper documents. Exceptions apply to high-risk industries such as construction and hospitality or if the employee specifically requests written documents. Read more…

Deceased employee’s request for termination agreement effective

Termination Agreement: What happens in Germany if a contractual termination agreement has been already been signed and the employee dies afterwards? Is the termination agreement still valid? The Landesarbeitsgericht Baden-Württemberg has already decided (judgement of 15.12.2021, 2 Sa 11/21). If the death of the employee occurs during the contract conclusion phase of Read more…

What is individual labour law?

The central purpose of labour law is to protect employees. Employees are dependent on their employers, not just economically, but personally under their contract of employment. The resulting need for special protection is met by labour law. The basic idea of labour law is to bring about a fair balance of interests between employers and employees. The main purpose of labour law consists of protecting employees from violations of personal integrity, economic disadvantage and health risks involved in working as an employee.

Home workers, who are especially economically dependent on their employers, are also covered by labour law, partly under special provisions and partly under provisions applying to all employees. Labour law is divided into individual labour law, which governs relations between employers and employees, and collective labour law, which applies to legal relations between unions and employer associations at company and most of all at inter-company level.

Individual labour law centres on the relationship between a person in work and his or her employer, as governed by the employment contract between them.

There are two main questions dealt with by every employment contract: what work you are expected to do, and what pay you are entitled to in return. (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 Read more…