German labour law


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

History

Contract of employment

Codetermination

In July 2014 the country began legislating to introduce a federally mandated minimum wage law, the Gesetz zur Regelung eines allgemeinen Mindestlohns , which came into effect on 1 January 2015. The minimum wage was initially set at €8.50 per hour, which has been increased to €8.85 in 2017.
The European Commission introduced an infringement procedure against Germany on 19 May 2015, arguing that the application of this law in the transport sector had a disproportionately restrictive impact on the freedom to provide services and the free movement of goods, two of the principal freedoms on which the European Union is based. The Commission issued a supplementary letter on this subject to the German authorities on 16 June 2016, initiating two months' notice of potential legal action.