German labour law

German labour law () refers to the regulation of employment relationships and industrial partnerships in Germany.

Timeline

• General Commission of German Trade Unions (1892–1919)
• Free Association of German Trade Unions (1897–1919)
• Weimar Constitution 1919
• Betriebsrätegesetz 1920
• Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (1919–1933)
• Free Workers' Union of Germany (1919–1933)
• Arbeitsordnungsgesetz of 1934
• German Labour Front, the nationalised Nazi controlled union (1933 to 1945)
• Strength Through Joy
• Council of Trust and Factory leader
• Confederation of German Trade Unions (est 1949)
• Mitbestimmungsgesetz 1976

Court

Labour court () has the right to handle legal issues on labours. Federal Labour Court is the highest labour court in Germany.

Individual labour law

Contract of employment

• Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code) §§ 611–630
• Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz (Part-time and Fixed-term Work Act), §14(2) two-year fixed term limit
• Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (Employee Leasing Act)
• Urlaubsgesetz (Holidays Act)
• Mutterschutzgesetz
• Arbeitszeitgesetz
• Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Transparency in Wage Structures Act)
• On October 15, 2024, the German Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) updated its interpretations of the Employee Leasing Act (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz, or AÜG), with significant implications for EOR services. For the first time, the guidelines extend the licensing requirement under the AÜG to cover virtual employees based abroad but working for German companies.

Dismissal

• Kündigungsschutzgesetz (Dismissal Protection Act)

Collective labour law

Codetermination

• Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (Works Constitution Act) requires establishment of Works Councils where there are five or more employees
• Mitbestimmungsgesetz (Codetermination Act)

Collective bargaining

• Tarifvertragsgesetz (Collective Agreement Act)

Minimum wage law

See also

• German company law
• German contract law
• European labour law
• United Kingdom labour law

Notes

References

Articles

• A Freckmann, ‘Temporary Employment Business in Germany’ (2004) 15(1) International Company and Commercial Law Review 7
• A Freckmann, ‘Termination of Employment Relationships in Germany – Still a Problem’ (2005) 16(1) International Company and Commercial Law Review 38
• B Keller, ‘The Hartz Commission Recommendations and Beyond: An Intermediate Assessment’ (2003) 19(3) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 363
• O Kahn-Freund, ‘The Social Ideal of the Reich Labour Court - A Critical Examination of the Practice of the Reich Labour Court’ (1931)
• S Konnert, ‘Unfair Dismissal by Reason of Redundancy in Germany’ (2005) 16(11) International Company and Commercial Law Review 431
• E McGaughey, 'The Codetermination Bargains: The History of German Corporate and Labour Law' (2016) 23(1) Columbia Journal of European Law 135
• B Waas, ‘Temporary Agency Work in Germany: Reflections on Recent Developments’ (2003) 19(3) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 387

Books

• M Weiss and M Schmidt, Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Germany (4th edn Kluwer 2008)
• A Junker, Grundkurs Arbeitsrecht (3rd edn 2004)
• O Kahn-Freund, R Lewis and J Clark (ed) Labour Law and Politics in the Weimar Republic (Social Science Research Council 1981) ch 3, 108-161
• F Ebke and MW Finkin, Introduction to German Law (1996) ch 11, 305

External links

• Erste Verordnung des Führers und Reichskanzlers über Wesen und Ziel der Deutschen Arbeitsfront vom 24. Oktober 1934