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German Labor Law

Business in GermanyGerman Labor LawStarting or Expanding Business

Statutory Minimum Vacation Days for Employees in Germany

German Employee Vacation Rights are rather sacred Becoming an employer in Germany can be a bit of a culture shock for foreign entrepreneurs, especially those coming from a more hire and fire oriented US jurisdiction. German labour law is highly regulated. We explained the rules regarding employee protection against dismissal here and described the risky issue of “Fictitious Self-Employment” here. Another fact, that many American or Asian employers can’t get their head around is the…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
August 1, 2014
Business in GermanyGerman Labor LawGerman Tax LawStarting Business

Beware of the horrid Monster of German Labour Law: Ficticious Self-Employment

The biggest fear of any German HR department: Having covert salary employees among their workforce German labour law is strictly regulated and employees are well protected against dismissal if the employer’s workforce exceeeds 10 full time employees (details here). Furthermore, German wage tax (Lohnsteuer), health insurance, social security and state pension contributions are rather hefty (for more see here: Statutory Pension Insurance in Germany). Therefore, to try to avoid these labour costs, some employers but…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 24, 2014
Business in GermanyBusiness Tax & Fiscal ObligationsGerman Corporate LawGerman Labor LawGerman Tax LawStarting BusinessStarting or Expanding Business

London Chamber of Commerce: 10 practical tips for doing business in Germany

In this issue of „London Business Matters“, the London Chamber of Commerce's monthly magazine, German corporate and business lawyer Bernhard Schmeilzl has compiled "10 Top Tips when starting a Business in Germany". The magazine also contains helpful information about the trading relations between the UK and Germany. Just browse the online issue. For more details on how to establish a business in Germany please see the articles below 3 Ways to expand your Business to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 23, 2014
Business in GermanyGerman Labor Law

Germany introduces minimum wage in January 2015

After 10 years of heated discussion Germany will implement a nationwide universal minimum gross wage (flächendeckender Mindestlohn) of EUR 8.50 per hour starting 1 Januar 2015. The act still needs to be formally passed but is expected to go through without relevant changes. Thus the details of the future „Tarifautonomiestaerkungsgesetz“ can already be found in the government draft of the bill here. There will be transitional provisions and some exceptions for certain business sectors. Fore…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
June 24, 2014
Business in GermanyBusiness Tax & Fiscal ObligationsGerman Labor LawGerman Tax LawStarting BusinessStarting or Expanding BusinessTrustee & Escrow Services

10 Things to do when starting a German Business

Get started on the fast track If you have read our previous postings "Guide for doing Business in Germany", "Establish a German Limited Company (GmbH): FAQ and Checklist" and "Open a Business Bank Account in Germany?" you already have a pretty good idea how to go about starting your own German business. With this posting we provide ten - personal and probably subjectively biased - practical tips how to get a head start: #1: Choose…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
August 9, 2013
Business in GermanyContract TemplatesGerman Labor Law

Model Employment Contract (German Law, English Language)

In this article here we have explained the basic principles of German labour law, in particular the protection of employees against dismissal. To give you an idea what a typical German employment agreement looks like we have posted a model Employee Agreement here: Model_Employment_Contract_Germany_english_2013 The contract is based on German labour law, but drafted in English language. To use an English contract is of course only acceptable if the employee is fluent in English otherwise he/she…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
February 19, 2013
Business in GermanyBusiness Tax & Fiscal ObligationsContract TemplatesGerman Corporate LawGerman Labor LawStarting BusinessStarting or Expanding Business

Checklist: Formation of a German Company. And then what?

Setting up a German Limited Liability Company and everything that comes with it The most popular company form in Germany is the "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung" which translates "company with limited liability". We explain the formation process here (see PDF guideline) and provide a sample set of documents (articles of association, statutes etc.) here. If you have decided to set up a German subsidiary or register a branch office of your existing company in Germany,…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
October 17, 2012
Business in GermanyGerman Corporate LawGerman Labor Law

Guide for doing Business in Germany

Practical tips and helpful websites The following websites and brochures may prove helpful if you plan to do business in Germany or with German commercial partners: .Germany Trade and Invest (www.gtai.de) is the foreign trade and inward investment agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its mission is to promote Germany as top location for industrial and technological investments and to identify investors for the German market. The organization advises and supports foreign companies seeking…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
June 15, 2012
German Labor LawGerman Law

German Labour Law: The Basics of Employee Protection against Dismissal

Here is a general overview on German law on employee protection against dismissal. Entrepreneurs please mind: this legislation wasn’t our idea, we are just trying to explain it! 1. General protection against dismissal ("Kündigungsschutz") While the special protection against dismissal deals with the restrictions to dismissal from which only specific employees benefit (e.g. members of a works council, pregnant women), the general protection against dismissal applies to all employees who fall under the scope of…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
June 11, 2012