Germany: New German government intends to make several changes in employment law legislation over the next four years

The coalition agreement in particular contains the following legislative proposals that shall be implemented over the next four years:

• The possibility to validly agree on a fixed term employment agreement without objective grounds shall be limited. Companies with more than 75 employees shall only be allowed to enter into fixed term agreements with maximum 2.5 % of the staff. The maximum permissible duration of the fixed term shall be limited to 18 months instead of 24 months. Additionally, the practice of repeated fixed-term employment shall be restricted.
• Employees shall obtain a claim to temporary part-time for a period between one and five years. Such claim shall only be applicable in companies with at least 45 employees.
• The existing opportunity to elect a works council through a simplified, less formal process will be expanded. In the future, it shall always be applicable in establishments with up to 100 employees, compared to the current threshold of 50 employees.
• On-call work shall be restricted further.