Individual and Collective Labour Law
All employees have specific rights that are prescribed by law, collective bargaining agreements and/or individual employment contracts. Labour law serves the primary purpose of protecting employees. All employees have certain minimum rights, whether a contract of employment exists or not. These are for example:
- the right to have paid holidays
- the right to receive payment in case of sickness and on public holidays
- rights against unfair dismissal (including right to be given a minimum period of notice)
- the right for written information on the main conditions of the employment contract
- the right to receive maternity or paternity leave
Collective bargaining agreements can depart from the regulations laid down by law by providing more favourable terms than the legal minimum. Individual contracts of employment can in turn be more favourable than collective bargaining agreements. This is known in Germany as the Favourability Principle ("Günstigkeitsprinzip"). Working conditions that do not reach the legal minimum standard are not permitted and are not binding under law.
There are also collective labour rights that stem from the laws protecting collective bargaining agreements and the Industrial Constitution Law ("Betriebsverfassungsrecht").
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