German labour law

German labour law refers to the regulation of employment relationships and industrial partnerships in Germany.

History

General Commission of German Trade Unions (1892–1919)
Free Association of German Trade Unions (1897–1919)
Weimar Constitution 1919
Betriebsrätegesetz 1920
Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (1919–1933)
Free Workers' Union of Germany (1919–1933)
Arbeitsordnungsgesetz of 1934
German Labour Front, the nationalised Nazi controlled union (1933 to 1945)
Strength Through Joy
Council of Trust and Factory leader
Confederation of German Trade Unions (est 1949)
Mitbestimmungsgesetz 1976

Courts and constitution

Grundgesetz (1949) "Article 9 (Freedom of association). (1) All Germans have the right to form associations and societies. (2) Associations, the objects or activities of which conflict with the criminal laws or which are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding, are prohibited. (3) The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions is guaranteed to everyone and to all trades and professions. Agreements which restrict or seek to hinder this right are null and void; measures directed to this end are illegal."
Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz

Individual labour law

Contract of employment

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code) §§ 611–630
Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz (Part-time and Fixed-term Work Act), §14(2) two-year fixed term limit
Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (Employee Leasing Act)
Urlaubsgesetz (Holidays Act)
Mutterschutzgesetz (Act on Maternity Protection)
Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Time Act)
Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Transparency in Wage Structures Act)

Dismissal

Kündigungsschutzgesetz (Dismissal Protection Act)

Collective labour law

Codetermination

Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (Works Constitution Act) requires establishment of Works Councils where there are five or more employees
Mitbestimmungsgesetz (Codetermination Act)

Collective bargaining

Tarifvertragsgesetz (Collective Agreement Act)

Minimum wage law

Germany's minimum wage is €12.41 per hour, pre-tax since 1 January 2024. The legislation (German: Gesetz zur Regelung eines allgemeinen Mindestlohns) was introduced on January 1, 2015, by Angela Merkel's third government, a coalition between the SPD and the CDU. The implementation of a minimum wage was the SPD's main request during the coalition's negotiations as its central electoral promise during the 2013 federal election campaign. Previously, Germany had minimum wages only in specific sectors, negotiated by trade unions, and some were below the minimum wage level introduced in 2015.^[1]

The initial minimum wage was 8.50 euros per hour, pre-tax. Since then, Germany's Minimum Wage Commission (Mindestlohnkommission) regularly proposes adjustments to the minimum wage level. It was last increased to 12 euros per hour pre-tax in October 2022.^[2]

Due to inflation, in December 2022 this wage was worth as much as 9.80 euros were worth in January 2015.^[3]^[4]^[5] A €12 wage implies a gross nominal monthly salary of €2,080 for a full-time employee, meaning someone working forty hours per week.^[6] The increase to €12 was decided on 3 June 2022 by the Bundestag (400 to 41, with 200 abstentions).^[7]

There remain exceptions to the wage minimum for workers on a traineeship, employees during their vocational training, volunteers, internships up to three months, young people and the long-term unemployed.^[2]

Notes

^ "With eye on elections, Merkel pushes minimum wage". Reuters. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
^ ^a ^b "Customs online - Scope of application of the Minimum Wage Act". www.zoll.de. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
^ Adjusted for increases in the cost of living (inflation) using the method and data source of IAB (next footnote). The inflation adjustment factor is from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (next footnote). Example: From July to December 2021, the minimum wage was €9.60. Adjusted for inflation, it was €8.59 in July 2021, and €8.51 in December 2021. Note that January-2015-euros are not the same as 2015-euros. A hundred January-2015-euros are worth 98.50 2015-euros.
^ Börschlein, Erik-Benjamin; Bossler, Mario. "Eine Bilanz nach fünf Jahren gesetzlicher Mindestlohn. Positive Lohneffekte, kaum Beschäftigungseffekte". Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung [de]. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
^ "Inflation: Verbraucherpreise steigen im August um 7,9 Prozent". Der Spiegel (in German). 2022-08-30. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
^ Appel, Andre (6 July 2022). "German Parliament Approves Increase in Minimum Wage to €12 per Hour, Effective October 1, 2022". The National Law Review. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
^ "German lawmakers approve €12 minimum wage". DW. 3 June 2022.

References

Articles

A Freckmann, ‘Temporary Employment Business in Germany’ (2004) 15(1) International Company and Commercial Law Review 7
A Freckmann, ‘Termination of Employment Relationships in Germany – Still a Problem’ (2005) 16(1) International Company and Commercial Law Review 38
B Keller, ‘The Hartz Commission Recommendations and Beyond: An Intermediate Assessment’ (2003) 19(3) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 363
O Kahn-Freund, ‘The Social Ideal of the Reich Labour Court - A Critical Examination of the Practice of the Reich Labour Court’ (1931)
S Konnert, ‘Unfair Dismissal by Reason of Redundancy in Germany’ (2005) 16(11) International Company and Commercial Law Review 431
E McGaughey, 'The Codetermination Bargains: The History of German Corporate and Labour Law' (2016) 23(1) Columbia Journal of European Law 135
B Waas, ‘Temporary Agency Work in Germany: Reflections on Recent Developments’ (2003) 19(3) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 387

Books

M Weiss and M Schmidt, Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Germany (4th edn Kluwer 2008)
A Junker, Grundkurs Arbeitsrecht (3rd edn 2004)
O Kahn-Freund, R Lewis and J Clark (ed) Labour Law and Politics in the Weimar Republic (Social Science Research Council 1981) ch 3, 108-161
F Ebke and MW Finkin, Introduction to German Law (1996) ch 11, 305

External links

Erste Verordnung des Führers und Reichskanzlers über Wesen und Ziel der Deutschen Arbeitsfront vom 24. Oktober 1934

[1] "With eye on elections, Merkel pushes minimum wage". Reuters. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2018-12-13.

[Minimum_wage_in_Germany_:1-2] "Customs online - Scope of application of the Minimum Wage Act". www.zoll.de. Retrieved 2022-06-06.

[Minimum_wage_in_Germany_:2-3] Adjusted for increases in the cost of living (inflation) using the method and data source of IAB (next footnote). The inflation adjustment factor is from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (next footnote). Example: From July to December 2021, the minimum wage was €9.60. Adjusted for inflation, it was €8.59 in July 2021, and €8.51 in December 2021. Note that January-2015-euros are not the same as 2015-euros. A hundred January-2015-euros are worth 98.50 2015-euros.

[Minimum_wage_in_Germany_iab-4] Börschlein, Erik-Benjamin; Bossler, Mario. "Eine Bilanz nach fünf Jahren gesetzlicher Mindestlohn. Positive Lohneffekte, kaum Beschäftigungseffekte". Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung [de]. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-11-22.

[5] "Inflation: Verbraucherpreise steigen im August um 7,9 Prozent". Der Spiegel (in German). 2022-08-30. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-08-30.

[6] Appel, Andre (6 July 2022). "German Parliament Approves Increase in Minimum Wage to €12 per Hour, Effective October 1, 2022". The National Law Review. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Retrieved 8 September 2022.

[7] "German lawmakers approve €12 minimum wage". DW. 3 June 2022.

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