German Labour and Employment Law for Companies

In the area of individual employment law, we offer support in all issues arising in day-to-day personnel work (such as hiring, classification according to collective agreements, dismissals, warnings, questions about parental leave, holidays, remuneration components, references). Part-time claims and fixed-term contracts are also part of our advisory and litigation business.

In collective labour law, we work with our member companies to find solutions in all matters of works constitution law and co-determination. We answer questions on whether and to what extent co-determination rights exist. We draft works agreements and negotiate them - on request - on behalf of our member companies. Of course, we also assist you in conciliation procedures. Thanks to our many years of experience in a wide range of sectors, we can provide you with comprehensive know-how.

Our internal information system (V.I.S.) provides our members with a comprehensive catalogue of company agreements on a wide range of topics.

Negotiating in-house collective agreements is part of our core business. We use our many years of experience and close links to associations in various sectors for the benefit of our member companies. We offer our professional support in the form you want: Either by providing information in the background or by actively negotiating with the company partners involved.

Experience has shown that the demand for a high severance payment by the employee is common today in the case of termination agreements or dismissals. This can cost you a lot of money as an employer.

The payment of a severance payment to terminate the employment relationship and its amount is a matter of negotiation. We take on this task for you.

By tactically conducting negotiations and correctly playing your own cards in the "severance pay poker", you can achieve an optimal solution for you.

You establish your negotiating position with us, both in legal and factual terms. We analyse the weaknesses and risks. Together we work out a strategy that fits your company in order to achieve your ideas.

Warnings are a very important legal instrument. They can form the basis for a subsequent dismissal. It is therefore all the more important for you as an employer to comply with the legal requirements when formulating warnings. In daily practice, mistakes often happen here. Such mistakes usually lead to the invalidity of warnings.

As a member, we check and revise warnings for you in order to minimise the risk of legal ineffectiveness.

The employment contract is the individual basis of the legal relationship with your employees. Errors or imprecise formulations in this contract weigh heavily and can lead to unwanted and unpleasant surprises, not only in financial terms.

Every clause of the contract is important and has its meaning, otherwise you would not need the clause. Conversely, decisive things may not be regulated to your disadvantage. Furthermore, it is always important to keep an eye on the latest case law and the respective legal situation so that clauses do not turn out to be invalid in retrospect.

By drafting and regularly revising your employment contracts, we reduce risks in the legal relationship with your employees. In this way, we help you avoid possible legal disputes right from the start or create a good starting position in the event of problems.

It may well make sense for your company not to give notice but to offer a termination agreement as a mutually agreed solution to terminate the employment relationship. This offers planning security and avoids lengthy proceedings for protection against dismissal.

You will receive advice from us in advance of a separation situation at no additional cost. Together we develop solutions that secure your interests in the best possible way. We draft, review and negotiate termination agreements for you and advise you on the various options available.

Legal questions of the transfer of an undertaking (§ 613a BGB) play a role in operational practice in many constellations. In particular, the question of a possible transfer of an undertaking is an issue in the context of operational restructuring.

The statutory regulation provides comprehensive protection for employees. There are many pitfalls for you as an employer to consider.

Together with you, we develop possible behavioural strategies to preserve your entrepreneurial freedom of action.
Transfer network

In the event of substantial staff redundancies, we can also offer you a transfer network and a transfer company as part of our cooperation with affiliated companies.

Please do not hesitate to contact your consultant.

We are your competent contact in all areas and questions of works constitution law. No matter whether it is about the involvement of the works council in dismissals and transfers or about participation in other matters.

We support you in the case of works agreements or other issues that need to be resolved between the parties to the works council.

You receive comprehensive advice, and we conduct the necessary negotiations and resolution procedures for you. We will show you how to organise cooperation within the company, taking into account the specifics of your company, and develop strategies with you for dealing with the other party to the agreement.
Works council training

Works council training can be very costly. As part of our cooperation with affiliated companies, we offer legally correct and affordable training for works councils. A win-win situation for both sides.

Please do not hesitate to contact your adviser.

Sprechen Sie Ihren Berater hierzu gerne an.

In order to create incentives for performance, agreements are often made in employment contracts on management bonus, bonus or commission payments.

In practice, disputes often arise as to whether and in what amount there is a claim to these special payments.

In the event of errors in the regulations or their practical handling, employees have a legally enforceable claim to the special benefits.

We work with you to draw up legally secure and calculable contractual regulations on all special financial benefits such as management bonuses, bonuses and commissions. Here, we focus on regulations that are as flexible as possible in order to ensure that the interests of our members are optimally enforced.

The instrument of the conciliation board as a dispute resolution body under works constitution law is a costly part of everyday life in many companies.

Despite this importance for practice, the conciliation board is insufficiently regulated by law. Much of it is judge-made law. We advise and inform you about these legal requirements and the inherent dynamics of this conciliation procedure.

We develop negotiation strategies with you and advise you on the tactics of effective negotiation for your goals in order to achieve optimal results for industrial peace.

Of course, we represent you nationwide both in conciliation boards and in resolution proceedings.
Mediation

Conciliation boards cost time and money. Alternative solutions are often possible. We offer you the possibility of mediation as part of our cooperation with associated companies.

Please do not hesitate to contact your advisor.

The application for parental leave is regularly followed by the application for part-time work during parental leave and then part-time work after the end of parental leave.

These issues must therefore not only be considered legally, but also in the interplay of operational processes.

You have to observe strict deadlines, especially as an employer, otherwise you may suffer considerable disadvantages.

We advise you on your employees' applications for parental leave and your options for action. You can rely on our many years of experience.

In the case of termination of an employment contract by notice, there are a multitude of sources of error for you as an entrepreneur.

There can be costly consequences if the numerous legal hurdles are not recognised and overcome when issuing a termination notice.

We advise and represent you, among other things, in actions for protection against dismissal brought by your employees before all German labour courts up to and including the Federal Labour Court.

Outplacement counselling

As a member of our association, you can also receive outplacement counselling from our partner at special rates in addition to legal counselling.

Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Pregnant women enjoy special protection.

From the beginning of pregnancy until the expiry of 4 months after childbirth, termination of the employment relationship without official authorisation is not permitted.

Another special feature is maternity protection. It begins 6 weeks before the birth or before the expected date of birth. This means that expectant mothers are not allowed to work during the last 6 weeks before childbirth, unless they expressly agree to do so.

After confinement, women may not be employed until 8 weeks have elapsed; in the case of premature and multiple pregnancies, the absolute ban on employment is extended to 12 weeks.

If the mother takes parental leave after the birth of the child, the protection against dismissal is extended beyond the period of the Maternity Protection Act until the end of the parental leave.

We advise and inform about the special features of labour law arising from this situation.

Economic necessities or internal reorganisations force companies to restructure. This is often associated with staff reductions.

In the run-up to such a measure, detailed preparations must be made and numerous decision parameters considered in order to keep the economic risks low.

We advise and accompany you in the run-up to and during the implementation of restructuring measures and develop tailor-made solutions for each individual case. In doing so, we attach great importance to a careful analysis of the data relevant to the decision in order to set the right course for you in advance and to avoid financial disadvantages.
Outplacement advice and transfer network

As our member, you can receive outplacement counselling safely and competently at special rates in addition to legal counselling through our partner.

In the event of substantial staff redundancies, we can also offer you a transfer network as part of our cooperation with affiliated companies.

Please do not hesitate to contact your adviser.

We are not a collective bargaining association. Membership in the UVF does not create any collective bargaining obligation!

However, if a member concludes in-house collective agreements, we advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of this regulation option so that you can make a qualified decision for your company.

We also advise on the negotiation and drafting of collective agreements, with a particular focus on the economic implications of the provisions made.

Do you have more than 15 employees?

Then every employee who has been with you for more than six months has a claim to a reduction in working hours that can be brought before the labour court if you have no good arguments against it (so-called "operational reasons").

If you miss the statutory deadline to reject your employee's request for part-time work in writing, the request is automatically considered approved by law.

Are you aware of the legal blocking period regulation, which makes a further application much more difficult? We will be happy to advise you on this.

If you have a works council and more than 20 employees, you must not only inform the works council about planned changes to the company, you must also seek a reconciliation of interests.

Failure to reconcile interests or not seriously attempting to do so can result in expensive claims for you from a disadvantage reconciliation.

We advise and represent on the preparation and implementation of reconciliations of interests. We review reconciliations of interests and advise you on the various possibilities for claims and settlements.

Of course, we will conduct your reconciliation of interests negotiations and develop viable solutions together. If no agreement can be reached, we will also conduct the proceedings before the conciliation board on your behalf.
Outplacement counselling and transfer network

As a member of our network, in addition to legal advice, you can also receive secure and competent outplacement advice at special rates through our partner.

In the event of significant staff redundancies, we can also offer you a transfer network as part of our cooperation with affiliated companies.

Please do not hesitate to contact your adviser.

As an entrepreneur, you can react flexibly to fluctuations in orders by hiring out workers.

Temporary employment creates a triangular relationship between employee, lender and hirer.

We advise and inform you in detail about the special features of labour law arising from this situation, in particular about the numerous pitfalls. In particular, we inform you in good time and comprehensively about any new legal regulations in this area.  

As our member, in addition to legal advice on your existing temporary employment relationships, you can also securely and flexibly organise temporary employment relationships at special conditions through our partner.

Please do not hesitate to ask your advisor about this.

As an employer, you are obliged to provide a favourable reference at the employee's request after termination of an employment relationship.

Frequently, the employee demands corrections because of the wording. This can lead to considerable additional work in the personnel department.

Of course, we advise and support you in the formulation of references. And - should it become necessary - we will represent you in relation to a legal dispute.