Employment law accompanies every employment relationship — from the first contract through day-to-day work to separation. We advise employers and employees on the central issues of employment law. We place a particular focus where our roots in IT law lie: at the interface of everyday employment and digitalization, and in advising and training companies and works councils.
Drafting and reviewing employment contracts — fixed-term employment contracts, probationary periods, remuneration, non-compete covenants, AI clauses and post-contractual obligations. For employers who need legally sound contracts, and for employees who want to know what they are signing.
Issuing termination notices with legal certainty — or challenging them. Termination agreements (Aufhebungsverträge), severance payments, Kündigungsschutzklagen (actions for dismissal protection) and the negotiation of fair separation arrangements — on both sides of the table.
The questions of the ongoing employment relationship: working hours and overtime, vacation, remuneration, formal warnings (Abmahnungen) and employment references. Often unspectacular — and yet decisive when a conflict arises.
Advising and training works councils, Betriebsvereinbarungen (works agreements) and codetermination procedures. We pay particular attention to the introduction of digital systems in the workplace and can be retained by the works council as experts (§ 80 Abs. 3 BetrVG — the German Works Constitution Act). When a company assesses the introduction or use of artificial intelligence, this involvement is even recognized by statute as necessary.
Every new system in the workplace
is also a question of codetermination.
We have already trained works councils in a range of areas. Under § 37 Abs. 6 BetrVG, the works council is entitled to the training required for its work. We teach the fundamentals of codetermination as well as specialized topics around IT, data protection and the use of AI in the workplace.
Data protection in the workplace concerns employers, employees and works councils alike. The works council in particular often acts in a dual role within a company's data protection organization. It is frequently unclear whether it is itself a controller under data protection law or must follow the company's requirements — a relationship that is especially fraught in the field of employee data protection.
Added to this are confidentiality issues, which create their own tension with data protection law. We sort out these roles and duties and create clarity for employers, employees and works councils alike.
We support works councils with works agreements, in codetermination procedures and in disputes with the employer — from the initial assessment through to the negotiation. In doing so, we keep an eye on where codetermination rights actually apply and how they can be enforced.
Beyond that, the works council can retain us as experts under § 80 Abs. 3 BetrVG — particularly for IT and data protection matters, in which we specialize. When a company assesses the introduction or use of artificial intelligence, retaining an expert is even considered necessary by statute (§ 80 Abs. 3 Satz 2 BetrVG).
Introducing time tracking, monitoring software or AI tools is not only a technical decision but also a matter of codetermination. This is exactly where our strength lies: we combine employment law with our roots in IT and data protection law, which makes us particularly well suited as experts for works councils on digital and AI-supported systems. Read more in our practice areas AI & legal tech and Data protection & data law.
