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Germany
Germany is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation’s capital and largest city is Berlin, and Frankfurt is Germany’s leading financial hub.
POPULATION
85 million inhabitants
CURRENCY
Euro (EUR)
GDP
$5.4 trillion
MINIMUM MONTHLY WAGE:
€13.90/hour
EUR 2,400–2,500 gross
TIME ZONE
UTC +1
German world class education system ensures the highest standards. Located at the heart of Europe, Germany is Europe’s number one logistics market.
Germany is a modern, tolerant, and cosmopolitan society with an excellent standard of living. Superior health and education provision, endless opportunities for sports and recreation in beautiful landscape, and a vibrant cultural scene are just some of the reasons why more than seven million foreigners have made their homes in Germany.
Germany is a member of the United Nations, European Union, NATO, Council of Europe, G7, G20, and OECD. It has the third-greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- Employment contract
There are the following employment contract options:
- Employment contract for an indefinite period
- Employment contract for a definite period. (A fixed-term contract can be renewed a maximum of three times, provided the total length of employment does not exceed two years.)
- Freelance contract (It is a contract where the employee is self-employed and provides services to the client on a project-by-project basis. Freelancers are not considered as employees and are responsible for their own taxes and insurance.)
- Part-Time Contract (This type of contract is often used to provide flexibility to employees who cannot work full-time)
The average working week in Germany is between 36 and 40 hours. The majority of full-time jobs in Germany are seven or eight hours a day, five days a week, with an hour or 30 minutes’ break at lunchtime.
Employees shall be granted the following types of leave:
- Annual paid leave (Employees are entitled to a minimum of 24 days off for a 6-day work week and 20 days for a 5-day one)
- Maternity leave, parental leave, care leave.
- Sick leave
- 9 public holidays (German public holidays differ based on the state. However, there are nine national public holidays that all states follow.)
The most common benefits for employees are:
- medical insurance
- private pension plan
- additional PTO
- general wellness
- lunch/gym allowances
1 January – New Year’s Day
3 April – Good Friday
6 April – Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
14 May – Ascension Day
25 May – Whit Monday (Pentecost Monday)
3 October – German Unity Day
25 December – Christmas Day
26 December – Second Day of Christmas
A contract can be terminated by:
- mutual consent:
The parties to a termination agreement can freely decide the date on which the employment relationship will end, legal or contractual notice periods do not apply and can be extended or reduced. One advantage for the employer is that it avoids the risks of an action against unfair dismissal.
- by expiry of a fixed-term contract:
No notice period is needed unless exclusively specified in the contract. However, it is important to keep track of when the contracts expire in order to prevent assigning work to a temporary employee whose contract has already ended.
- by an employer:
The employer should have a specific reason to dismiss an employee:
- related to the personal situation of the person to be dismissed,
- related to the behavior of the person to be dismissed,
- related to the employer’s business.
The notice period based on the length of service as follows and it can me from 1 moth until 7 months.
- by an employee:
The cancellation period is usually specified in the employment contract. If no specific regulation is mentioned, the statutory cancellation period is four weeks to the 15th of a month or four weeks to the end of the month.
All employees are protected by the German Termination Protection Act after the first 6 months of employment.
There is no statutory severance in Germany. Severance payments are paid at the end of employment in the following cases:
- the employment agreement provides for a contractual severance payment.
- the parties agree upon a severance payment (in or out of court) to settle a termination dispute.
- the court dissolves the employment against payment of severance if it finds that despite the invalidity of the termination, continued employment would be intolerable either for the employer or the employee.
- or a social plan concluded with the works council in connection with a collective redundancy provides for severance payments.
In practice, many employers and employees will agree on severance pay provisions to avoid lengthy court proceedings concerning the effectiveness of the termination. This severance will often amount to 50% of the monthly salary per year of service. However, this can vary significantly depending on the strength of the case for dismissal and the previous practice of the employer.
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