The Latest From Germany: More Holidays For Older Employees – Necessary Protection Or Discrimination?

Since 2006, when the General Equal Treatment Act came into force in Germany, most decisions about discrimination have dealt with alleged discrimination based on age. Is this surprising? Probably not. According to the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency in Germany, every fifth German claims to have already experienced discrimination at work based on age.

However, the companies’ attempts to actively promote the older employees might give rise to employee claims as well. The Federal Labor Court in […]

By |June 5th, 2015||

Germany: A "Permanent Temp Worker" is not the Lessee’s Employee

In Germany, many companies have resorted to utilizing temp workers through a third-party agency instead of hiring their own personnel. Temp workers typically are leased from an agency that employs the temps and assigns them to the company (lessee). This staffing model has increasingly received political criticism and judicial attention.

An area of particular concern is that some companies utilize temp workers “permanently” in order to replace parts of their regular workforce. For example, the […]

By |January 10th, 2014||

Germany: Background Checks On Job Applicants: What Is Allowed?

The words of the poet Friedrich Schiller, “So test therefore, who join (forever),” apply not only to relationships between romantic partners, but to relationships between employers and employees as well, since the employer and employee enter into a permanent debt relationship upon concluding an employment contract. Once the federally mandated protection against unlawful dismissal applies (i.e., after six months), the employee can be terminated only under very restricted conditions.
Initial Position: The Employer’s Right to […]

By |February 26th, 2013||