Employment Trends Germany

Welcome to the latest edition of Employment Trends Germany, our update on current developments in labour law in Germany.

Launch of our new Employment AI-Website

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Employment AI website in this edition of Employment Trends Germany. This website is dedicated to general topics related to artificial intelligence, but in particular to AI in the field of labour law in Germany and beyond. We have already linked some of our colleagues' articles on this topic, with more to follow soon. We will be happy to keep you informed as soon as new articles are published via our newsflash.

Current Insights

Notice Periods for GmbH Managing Directors

In a recent decision dated 5 November 2024 (case no. II ZR 35/23), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) reaffirmed its previous case law on the applicability of the notice periods in Section 622 German Civil Code (BGB) to managing directors. The BGH continues to hold that the minimum notice periods of Section 622 BGB also apply to managing directors of a GmbH who are not majority shareholders. This confirmation is in contrast to the opinion of the 2nd Senate of the Federal Labour Court (BAG), which declared the shorter notice periods pursuant to Section 621 BGB to be applicable to service relationships (see judgement of 11.06.2020 - 2 AZR 374/19).

You can find out more in this article written by Kerstin Helmerich. Read more

Delayed Setting of Performance Targets: Impact on Target Bonuses

BAG ruling 19/02/2025: Employers may be liable for damages if they don't set performance targets timely (case no. 10 AZR 57/24).

In a recent decision dated 19 February 2025 (case no. 10 AZR 57/24), the Federal Labor Court (BAG) confirmed that employers may be liable for damages if they fail to set performance targets in a timely manner.

You can find out more in this article written by Sina Noje-Knollmann. Read more

Challenges for a new German government

German government presents bill to reduce bureaucracy for employers.

Germany has elected a new Bundestag on 23 February 2025 and will thus receive a new government. Regardless of its composition, the new government will face a number of employment law challenges this year. Particularly, several EU directives have been pending implementation for some time.

Therefore, we hereby provide an overview on planned draft laws yet to be implemented and offer a forecast regarding their adoption in 2025 as well as an outlook on the changes already adopted for this year.

You can find out more in this article written by Dr Sascha Morgenroth. Read more