Focus On Labor Law - 3rd Quarter 2022

Mayer Brown's Employment & Benefits team in Germany has published a comprehensive briefing series examining the legal framework, practical tools, and compliance architecture underpinning internal investigations. Two of the authors outline key highlights for in-house legal teams, HR professionals, and senior management in organisations with a presence in Germany.

Germany's Pension Commission has proposed sweeping reforms that would fundamentally reshape retirement planning, workforce transitions, and employment structures. From dynamic retirement ages linked to life expectancy to the potential elimination of the senior part-time block model and minijobs, these recommendations carry profound implications for employers navigating restructuring, social plans, and pension commitments.

Germany's coalition government has proposed sweeping reforms to employment law that would fundamentally alter fixed-term contracts, dismissal protections, employee co-determination, and sick leave requirements. The package aims to strengthen Germany's competitive position amid technological change and demographic pressures, offering employers expanded flexibility while maintaining worker protections. These initiatives signal the most significant restructuring of German labor law in years, with implications

German employers face complex legal constraints when screening employee data or conducting workplace searches. This briefing explains how to lawfully navigate GDPR, telecommunications secrecy, and works council requirements while maintaining defensible evidence for internal investigations.

Germany's coalition government has proposed sweeping reforms to employment law that could fundamentally reshape fixed-term contracts, dismissal protection, co-determination rights, and sick leave reporting. The measures aim to strengthen Germany's competitiveness amid technological change, demographic pressure, and international competition, offering employers significantly expanded flexibility while tightening certain compliance requirements.

The implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive is still pending in Germany. The transposition deadline expired on 7 June 2026. Although it remains unclear when a draft bill will be published...

Many employers are familiar with this scenario: Employees (often sales representatives) drive from their homes to customer appointments, and the question arises whether the employees are entitled to be paid for this travel time.

German works councils hold binding co-determination rights over monitoring systems, staff questionnaires, and personnel measures in internal investigations. This guide maps the statutory triggers under the Works Constitution Act, explains when system-level consent differs from case-level information duties, and shows how to balance speed and confidentiality with mandatory consultation—without automatically losing evidence in court.

In July 2026, the German Federal Government adopted the National Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining (Action Plan) and submitted it to the Bundestag in September 2026.

German employers face complex data protection requirements when conducting internal investigations. This briefing examines the legal framework governing personal data processing under GDPR and German law, exploring when evidence remains admissible in court and how to balance employee rights against investigative needs.

A recent case handled by the German Federal Cartel Office clearly shows that (antitrust) compliance training alone is no guarantee of compliant behavior. Companies would be well advised...

The various aspects of compliance are high on the agenda of both the economic and political players in Germany. Most recently, the German government has approved a draft legislation for stricter rules on anti money laundering.

On 3 December 2022, the EU set the expected price cap for oil from Russia as agreed with the G7 partners and Australia. The price cap will come into force for crude oil...

With the Banking Directive Implementation and Bureaucracy Reduction Act (‘BRUBEG'), announced on 30 March 2026, German legislature has not only implemented the ‘EU Banking Package' ...

Die regulatorische Dynamik bleibt hoch: In dieser Ausgabe geben wir einen kompakten Überblick zu aktuellen Entwicklungen im IT-Recht und Datenschutz...

When terminating a contract using the new termination button in online commerce pursuant to Sec. 312k of the German Civil Code [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB], the customer may not be required...

In the last three articles of our "Digital Compliance" series, we explained the benefits and risks of using software-based compliance tools under aspects of data protection law...

Mit dem am 30. März 2026 verkündeten BRUBEG hat der deutsche Gesetzgeber nicht nur das „EU-Bankenpaket“ umgesetzt, sondern auch die Befugnisse der Versicherungs- und Finanzaufsicht...

Minor children and their parents need to be aware of various restrictions and hurdles when carrying out legal transactions. These are intended to protect minors from legal transactions....

The EU Commission wants to further promote a comprehensive and restrictive application of investment screening mechanisms by the competent authorities in the member states.