Germany: Pay Transparency Act - Does it work?

  Germany has introduced the Pay Transparency Act which came into force on 6 July. The Act is intended to reduce the gender pay gap, but whether it turns out to be a “bureaucratic monster” as some predict, or a “breakthrough for fair pay for women”, as the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth is calling it, remains to be seen….

Italy, France, Germany, Sweden and USA: Dress code and appearance policies

Personal dress and appearance is a common way individuals express their personality, including their political and religious views. Unfortunately, the personal choices individuals make in attire, hairstyle and other personal appearance factors may collide with workplace rules, creating conflicts. Federal U.S. law does not directly regulate employer dress codes or appearance policies. However, it does prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on a number…

EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – countdown of one more year

Die EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung – noch ein Jahr bis zur Anwendbarkeit – bi-lingual posting / zweisprachiger Beitrag – The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will become applicable throughout the European Union on 25 May 2018, with additional national legislation. By then, companies need to be compliant. The German Bundesrat has recently passed the new Bundesdatenschutzgesetz, which will adapt the European Regulation into national German law. This…

Germany: New employment law regulations in 2017

The following remarks are intended to provide a short outlook on the significant amendments to employment law in Germany in 2017. From 1 January 2017, several changes to German Labour Law took effect. The statutory minimum wage was increased from EUR 8.50 to 8.84 gross per hour, the rights of temporary employees have been strengthened and certain abuses of work contracts have been prevented. From…

Sexual harassment: How must employers in Europe respond?

More than half the women surveyed by the TUC earlier this year said that they had been sexually harassed at work, with most admitting they had not reported it. But British women are not the only ones to be subjected to unwanted sexual advances, inappropriate jokes and comments, or groping in the workplace. In Australia, for example, research suggests that the rate of sexual harassment has…

Call for German-style system in the UK on pregnancy and maternity discrimination

The UK Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee recently highlighted a “shocking” increase in workplace pregnancy discrimination, with the number of expectant and new mothers forced to leave their jobs almost doubling since 2005. Although such discrimination is already unlawful, the select committee has called for  German-style employment rights which go much further to protect women in these circumstances. The committee has also called for a big reduction…

Drug abuse and employment law in Europe

Most of the time, taking medication in the workplace creates no problems. Most prescription drugs have little impact on an employee’s ability to work safely. Some drugs, however may affect the employee’s safety or ability to focus. There is therefore considerable potential for prescription drugs to raise problems in the workplace. Indeed, when faced with this issue, employers, who generally have a safety obligation towards…

The hidden dangers of “Uberizing” a workforce

Technology is changing how, when and where we work. With these changes come shifting attitudes in how workers view their relationship with employers. The “on-demand” economy purports to bridge this gap, giving workers flexibility to choose when to work and connecting employers with available skilled labor when they need it most. The on-demand model would appear to provide both workers and employers what they want….

Decisions are made on the pitch – fixed term employment contracts with professional footballers

All theory is academic – decisions are made on the pitch. These words of Alfred (Adi) Preißler, the famous footballer and trainer, aptly sum up the legal position of employment contracts in professional football. Or at all events they certainly apply if we follow the arguments of the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Labour Court. In the case of the former Mainz goalkeeper Heinz Müller, there was a…

EURO 2016 and employment law in Germany

Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win. That’s how simple football is, according to Gary Lineker. At all events, things are often far from simple, if football mania and employment law coincide. For not every employee is keen to miss the fun of the matches; some will (want to) follow their…