Dr. Thomas Gennert

Subscribe to Dr. Thomas Gennert's Posts

Dr. Thomas Gennert focuses his practice on labor and employment law. He advises clients on the entire field of individual and collective employment law, data-privacy law and compliance, and employment-related litigation as well as employment-related matters in mergers and acquisition transactions. He also advises managing directors and corporate bodies on negotiation and termination of service agreements and liability related matters. Read Dr. Thomas Gennert's full bio.

Use of the Coronavirus Alert App in the Employment Relationship in Germany

By Dr. Thomas Gennert, Philip Uecker and Julian Jäger on Jul 30, 2020
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security

In Germany, a Corona Alert App has been deployed. If a user tests positive for COVID-19, it’s entirely up to the user to share the test result via the app. Employees are at liberty to use the app voluntarily on their personal devices, but employers cannot oblige employees to use it on a private or...

Continue Reading

SARS-COV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Standard in Germany

By Dr. Thomas Gennert on Apr 30, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany has introduced special occupational safety measures to protect the health of employees, restore economic activity and interrupt the chains of infection. On April 16, 2020, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesminister für Arbeit und Soziales) Hubertus Heil and the CEO of the German statutory accident insurance...

Continue Reading

German Employment Law Update | Holidays Without Borders? European Court of Justice Rules That Workers Cannot Automatically Lose Holiday Entitlement

By Dr. Gudrun Germakowski, Dr. Sandra Urban-Crell, Dr. Thomas Gennert and Volker Teigelkötter on Dec 13, 2018
Posted In Employment

On November 6, 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) passed judgment on two German cases (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften eV v Shimizu [C-684/16] and Kreuziger v Land Berlin [C-619/16]) concerning untaken paid annual leave entitlement. The ECJ ruled that accrued annual leave entitlements cannot be automatically forfeited if the worker does not place...

Continue Reading

Salary Payment in Tokens: German Labour Law Considerations

By Dr. Oliver Lieth, Dr. Sebastian Keding, Dr. Thomas Gennert and Volker Teigelkötter on Jul 10, 2018
Posted In Employment

More companies are considering paying their employees in tokens such as Bitcoin. The Japanese GMO group and the German Digitalmagazin t3n, for example, have announced that they plan to pay their employees in Bitcoin. This trend gives rise to the question: Are there restrictions under German employment law that companies must take into account? Access...

Continue Reading

German Statutory Minimum Wage May Include Vacation and Christmas Bonuses

By Dr. Thomas Gennert on Jul 5, 2016
Posted In Employment, Labor

On May 25, 2016, the German Federal Labor Court confirmed a decision of the State Labor Court Berlin-Brandenburg (reference number: 5 AZR 135/16) regarding the statutory minimum wage in Germany. The German Federal Labor court confirmed that, under certain conditions, vacation and Christmas bonuses may also be considered when determining if an employer pays his...

Continue Reading