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

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

General Commission of German Trade Unions The General Commission of German Trade Unions (german: Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands) was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a ...

(1892–1919) *

Free Association of German Trade Unions The Free Association of German Trade Unions (; abbreviated FVdG; sometimes also translated as Free Association of German Unions or Free Alliance of German Trade Unions) was a trade union federation in Imperial and early Weimar Germany. It was fou ...

(1897–1919) *

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...

1919 *Betriebsrätegesetz 1920 *

Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund The General German Trade Union Federation (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, ADGB) was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to ...

(1919–1933) *

Free Workers' Union of Germany The Free Workers' Union of Germany (; FAUD) was an anarcho-syndicalist trade union in Germany. It stemmed from the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FDVG) which combined with the Ruhr region's Freie Arbeiter Union on September 15, 1919. ...

(1919–1933) * Arbeitsordnungsgesetz of 1934 *

German Labour Front The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. History As early as March 1933, ...

, the nationalised Nazi controlled union (1933 to 1945) *

Strength Through Joy NC Gemeinschaft (KdF; ) was a German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (german: link=no, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour org ...

* Council of Trust and

Factory leader Factory leader (''german: Betriebsführer'') was a term introduced by the Labour organization law of 20 January 1934 for the owner, entrepreneur or manager of a business or company. Factory leaders and their “followers” (') formed the “facto ...

Confederation of German Trade Unions The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people ...

(est 1949) *

Mitbestimmungsgesetz Mitbestimmungsgesetz 1976 or the Codetermination Act 1976 is a German law that requires companies of over 2000 employees to have half the supervisory board of directors as representatives of workers, and just under half the votes. Background From ...

1976

Courts and constitution

*''

Grundgesetz The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...

'' (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 The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project. The BGB served as a template in sev ...

'' (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

*'' Kundigungsschutzgesetz'' (Dismissal Protection Act)

Collective labour law

Codetermination

*'' Betriebsverfassungsgesetz'' (Works Constitution Act) requires establishment of

Works Councils A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

where there are five or more employees *''

'' (Codetermination Act)

Collective bargaining

*'' Tarifvertragsgesetz'' (Collective Agreement Act)

Minimum wage law

Notes

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 Sir Otto Kahn-Freund QC (17 November 1900 – 16 August 1979) was a scholar of labour law and comparative law. He was a professor at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. Biography Kahn-Freund was born in Frankfurt am ...

, ‘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) *

, 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
{{DEFAULTSORT:German Labour Law