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Many foreign entrepreneurs establish a subsidiary in Germany, frequently choosing a Kapitalgesellschaft (company) for liability and tax reasons. The most familiar forms of company in German law are the Aktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company and the Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), or limited liability company. Both are autonomous legal ... Read More »
Category Archives: Germany
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Dutch civil-law notary cannot execute a deed under German law
July 25, 2016
On the basis of two rulings by the German Bundesgerichtshof from 1981 and 1989, the belief arose that deeds under German law can be executed by civil-law notaries not practising in Germany. In particular, it would be possible to transfer shares in German companies or incorporate legal entities under German ... Read More »
Levying prejudgment attachment in Germany – is it possible?
July 20, 2016
Prejudgment attachment plays a big role in Dutch debt collection practice. After obtaining leave, a prejudgment attachment can be levied on assets of the other party. The other party then loses its unfettered control over these assets. If the other party wishes to regain this control, a joint solution with ... Read More »
Online traders take note: the EU Commission’s online dispute resolution platform
June 21, 2016
Online dispute resolution platform Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes has directly applied in all EU Member States, including Germany, since January 2016. The Regulation applies only to online trade with consumers by companies headquartered in Europe (i.e. not in Switzerland, China or the USA). ... Read More »
Negotiated contract clause and General Terms and Conditions of Business
May 31, 2016
National legal systems routinely contain special provisions to be used for evaluating General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTC), and German law is no exception. Clauses that qualify as general terms and conditions of business are automatically subject to this rigorous scrutiny. If they do not withstand scrutiny, they are ... Read More »
The termination agreement – Key aspects under German labour law
May 9, 2016
There are many reasons why, in individual cases, the parties to an employment contract wish to part company or one party unilaterally terminates the employment relationship. One possible reason is the avoidance of dismissal proceedings, which entail risks for both parties. Alternatively, the parties may wish to quickly and smoothly ... Read More »
Warranty claims under German law on the sale of goods
March 31, 2016
As in Dutch law, German law on the sale of goods also requires the vendor to supply the purchaser with a fault-free item. If, however, the goods sold are defective, the statutory warranty clauses apply – unless General Terms and Conditions apply to the contractual relationship. However, we will not ... Read More »
Company practice
December 7, 2015
No entitlement to paid smoking breaks based on company practice (Higher Labor Court Nuremberg, decision of August 05, 2015 – 2 Sa 132/15) In many firms employers allow for working time to be broken up without requiring employees to work extra hours or reducing the claim to remuneration accordingly. No ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Employment law, Germany
Termination Without Notice
December 4, 2015
Secret conversation recording as retrospective grounds for termination without notice (Higher Labor Court Hamburg, decision dated July 22, 2015 – 6 Sa 77/14) If at the point of receiving notification of extraordinary termination there are other objective reasons for termination, which do not come to the attention of the employer ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Employment law, Germany
Industrial Disputes
December 3, 2015
Compensation of third-party companies in the event of a strike (Federal Labor Court, decision dated August 25, 2015 – 1 AZR 754/13) Third-party companies are often affected by strikes. In its ruling from August 25, 2015 the Federal Labor Court decided that airlines affected by an air traffic controller strike ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Corporate law, Germany
No more safe harbors!
December 2, 2015
The European Court of Justice has annulled the Safe Harbor Program (European Court of Justice, decision dated October 06, 2015 – C 362/14) It is now apparent since the ruling of the European Court of Justice dated October 06, 2015 (C 362/14): The Safe Harbor Program is invalid. The European ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Germany, IP-IT law
Dismissal for operational reasons
December 1, 2015
Obligation to offer continued employment to part-time staff on fixed-term full-time jobs (Federal Labor Court, decision dated March 26, 2015 – 2 AZR 417/14) The plaintiff had been in the employment of the defendant since 2008, most recently as Head of “Public and Media Relations”, on a 75 % working time ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Employment law, Germany
Office staff for the Works Council
November 30, 2015
No typist without necessity (Higher Labor Court of Berlin-Brandenburg, decision dated August 14, 2015 – 3 TaBV 417/15) Under Section 40 (2) of the Works Council Constitution Act (BetrVG) the works council is entitled to receive from the employer office staff for meetings, consultation hours and day-to-day managements – but ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Employment law, Germany
Running sweepstakes on Facebook & Co. in Germany – risks and side effects
October 15, 2015
When running sweepstakes and other promotion activities on Facebook or Twitter it is essential to be aware of local law pitfalls arising in connection with terms and conditions. Guidelines issued by Facebook & Co. in regard to the realization of promotion activities (e.g. the “Facebook Pages Terms”) do not cover ... Read More »
Mass layoffs – who counts?
September 11, 2015
Managing directors and interns are considered employees according to § 17 of the German Protection Against Dismissal Act (KSchG) (European Court of Justice, decision dated July 9, 2015 – C 229/14) In the case pending before the Labor Court Verden, the parties disagree about operationally-related terminations. Including the plaintiff, the ... Read More »
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by: Buse Heberer Fromm
in Employment law, Germany