In this section we can only give you an overview. Please obtain further
details in good time from your employer in Germany.
German labour law also applies to foreign workers while they are employed
in Germany. When you work in Germany you are treated as equal to German
employees as far as labour law is concerned and if there are differences
of opinion with your employer you can also appeal to the works council
or the labour court.
Collective agreements play an important role in German employment
relationships. They are negotiated from time to time between the
trade unions and employers of the different branches of the economy.
Collective agreements are a component of the employment contract;
they apply equally to employees and employers. They also include
in particular agreements concerning the minimum wages and salaries
of employees in the particular industry or firm.
The employment relationship is generally recorded by means of a
written employment contract. According to the principle of equal
rights for men and women, employers must not exclude men or women
on principle when filling a job. When recruiting, they are obliged
to ask only such questions whose answers are of legitimate interest
with regard to the intended employment relationship; questions regarding
an intended marriage or a pregnancy for example are inadmissible.
On the other hand the employee must point out voluntarily any illnesses
or physical impairments that affect the performance of the intended
activity.
In firms which have a works council (Betriebsrat), the agreement
of the works council is required for every recruitment. Firms that
have more than five employees (who are entitled to vote for the
works council, three of which can be voted for) can have a works
council. In public service the staff council performs corresponding
tasks.
The employee is obliged to perform the services agreed. In case
of doubt, the purport and extent of his rights and obligations depend
on the terms of the contract valid for the contractual relationship,
general laws or on the collective agreement.
The employer for his part is obliged to remunerate as agreed the
services provided.
Wages and salaries are usually paid by bank transfer. The employee
should therefore open an account at a bank or at the post office
bank. All banks, savings banks and the post office bank carry out
transfers abroad.
Please note that not only the dates of the beginning and end of
the employment relationship, but also the weekly and daily hours
of work are regulated in the employment contract, by collective
agreement or by means of a works agreement.
In case of doubt the regular working hours in the company are regarded
as agreed.
Employees over the age of 18 receive at least 24 days per year.
The minimum holiday increases according to collective agreement,
age and/or job duration. Employees generally have between 25 and
30 days' holiday per year.
During the probationary period the employee can not usually take
any holiday. Furthermore the employer and employee must come to
an agreement in each case about when the holiday may be taken. The
employee must not take up any other paid employment during the holiday.
In the case of sickness the employee generally has a legal claim
to continued payment of wages or salary for six weeks. The employee
must prove his incapacity for work at the latest on the third day
of sickness by means of a medical certificate. He is obliged to
inform his employer immediately of his incapacity for work and its
expected duration. This may also occur by telephone or by relatives
or colleagues informing the employer. The same also applies if the
employee becomes ill on holiday.
| -Termination
of the employment relationship |
Temporary employment relationships end automatically, i.e. without
notice of termination, after the agreed time.
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