Labour and Employment Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 Are there statutory sources of labour and employment law?

Unlike many other countries, Germany does not have a single employment act, but rather a patchwork of statutes that individually regulate various aspects of the employment relationship. General contractual matters are governed by the German Civil Code. Special laws that pertain to employment include the following:

• the Dismissal Protection Act;
• the Minimum Pay Act;
• the Working Time Act;
• the Sick Leave Pay Act;
• the Equal Treatment Act;
• the Pay Transparency Act;
• the Act on Part-Time and Fixed-Term Contracts;
• the Act on Temporary Hiring-out of Employees;
• the Maternal Leave Act;
• the Parental Leave Act;