Employment Lawyers in Germany

General aspects about the Employment Law in Germany

The employment relations between an employer and an employee are settled by the German Labor Law.

Companies and their employees can agree upon working relations orally or in written, but usually the signed written agreements are the most often used types of labor contracts in Germany. Almost every type of contract refers to a larger number of employees and it is treated as standard business terms (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen), whereas a collective labor agreement is a Tarifvertrag. Our employment lawyers in Germany can draft the labor contracts if you need this type of legal service.

 The German employer will usually decide on the terms of a contract therefore the clause 305ff. BGB of the German Civil Code has been enabled in order to protect the employee.

If you want to open a company in Germany and need to know more about the employment contract you are welcome to contact our employment lawyers.

The labor contract in Germany

The German employment contract will contain the names and the addresses of both the employer and employee and data about the starting date of work, and in case of determined period contracts the ending date, the place of work, the salary, and the date of payment of the employee, the working hours and the annual leave. The German labor contract should also mention a job description and the period of notice to be given in case of termination. The law enables the employer to set a probation period that can last up to six months (a longer probation period is not possible). During the trial period the notice for ending the employment is set at 2 weeks. Our employment lawyers in Germany are ready to help you.

Working hours in Germany

In Germany the working hours and breaks are stipulated by the law and must appear in collective labor agreements or individual work contracts.  The working week in Germany limited by law to 8 hours per working day (up to 10 hours if an average of 8 hours is kept over 6 months, i.e. max. 48 hours per six-day week); collective agreements usually set 35-40 hours per week. The breaks are set at least 30 minutes after a six hours schedule and a rest period of 11 hours between working days is also mandatory. The employee has the right to a 4-weeks’ vacation throughout a year. Our employment lawyers in Germany can give you more information on these matters.

Closing an employment contract in Germany

The termination of an employment contract must be done in writing in Germany. The employees must give a 4 weeks’ notice to the 15th or to the end of a calendar month.

In case of employers the notice period depends on the time the employee has been working in the company and varies from a 4 weeks’ notice period for employees working for less than 2 years in the company and arrives at 7 months for employees working for 20 years or more in a company.

Our German law firm provides clients with different types of legal services if you want to invest in Germany.