Current articles on Labor law

The fixed-term employment contract between a soccer club and a licensed player is lawful, according to a ruling by the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Labor Court on 17.02.16.

The employer had allowed the employee to use the internet privately during breaks. When the employer suspected the employee of using the internet on the work computer for private matters to a considerable extent, the browser history was evaluated. The employer discovered private use of around five days in a period of 30 days, whereupon the employment relationship was terminated without notice.

The LPVG Baden-Württemberg was already amended with effect from 11.12.2013 with the Act to Amend the State Staff Representation Act of 03.12.2013. On 12.03.2015, the law was re-published, providing for a new numbering of the amendments made in December 2013. Having only just become accustomed to the new regulations, the law was amended again shortly afterwards. Users of the LPVG should take the current version of the Act into account when applying and citing the Act.

An internship cannot be counted towards the probationary period of a subsequent training contract. This applies regardless of how the internship is structured.

The ECJ ruled on the questions submitted from England regarding the calculation of vacation entitlement when changing from part-time to full-time. According to this decision, there is no retroactive recalculation of the vacation entitlement already accrued to the current working hours.

A short-term interruption of an employment relationship with the same employer with a factual connection does not trigger the waiting period of § 4 BUrlG again with the conclusion of a new employment contract. In such a case, the employee is entitled to full leave in full by adding together the periods of both employment relationships in one calendar year if the waiting period according to § 4 BUrlG is fulfilled.

A disagreement between the husband and the employer due to a contract for work cannot serve as justification for terminating the employment relationship with the wife. Any misconduct on the part of the husband cannot be attributed to the wife.

A part-time employee must not be called in disproportionately often at weekends compared to full-time employees. Without objective reasons that could justify such unequal treatment, this would constitute discrimination against part-time employees as prohibited in Section 4 (1) sentence 1 TzBfG.

The Federal Labor Court had to deal with the question of whether the deployment of a group of circus performers constituted a service contract or an employment relationship. While the circus performers assumed the establishment of an employment relationship and the employer's obligation to register for social security, the circus assumed a free service contract relationship without an obligation to pay social security contributions.

Late marriage clauses prevent entitlement to a company widow's pension if the marriage was not concluded until after a specified age limit. In the opinion of the Federal Labor Court, such clauses violate the prohibition of age discrimination pursuant to Section 7 (2) AGG.

If age plays a role in the criteria for which employees are to be dismissed, this constitutes age discrimination in accordance with Section 7 AGG. A dismissal in a small company, in which the Dismissal Protection Act does not apply, can also be age-discriminatory and therefore invalid due to a breach of Section 7 AGG.

The burning of privately procured video and audio media during working hours and using company resources on CD and DVD blanks procured at the employer's expense justifies termination without notice for conduct-related reasons.