News

At the end of the last legislative period, a reform of the status determination procedure under social security law (Sec. 7a German Social Code Book IV [Sozialgesetzbuch IV - SGB IV]) was passed - almost unnoticed. This reform lies behind the so-called German Act Strengthening Barrier-Free Accessibility [Barrierefreiheitstärkungsgesetz - BFSG]. The new regulations come into force on 1 April 2022. The purpose of the amendments is to provide the parties involved with quicker and simpler certainty in future as to whether dependent employment or self-employment exists. For evaluation purposes, the reform will initially apply for a limited period until 30 June 2027.

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War is still raging in Ukraine. The EU and the US imposed additional sanctions over the weekend. The press reported. Many companies feel very uncertain. What’s the situation? What’s still allowed and what isn’t?

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Over the past few days the situation in Ukraine has come to a head. The USA and the EU have imposed new sanctions. We explain which sanctions have been imposed and what companies that do business in Russia or Ukraine should now bear in mind.

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The Lobby Register has been live for more than seven weeks. About 800 registrations have been made since then. Have you registered? The registration deadline is 28 February 2022.

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The 3G regulation still applies nationwide at workplaces in Germany. The regulations adopted yesterday by the Conference of Minister Presidents [Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz – MPK] now envisage a three-step process of relaxing restrictions in many areas. From 20 March onwards, the home office obligation will also be lifted as a last step. Our employment law experts explain what this means for employers.

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When an insurance customer is asked health questions, the text form is deemed to be fulfilled if the insurance broker reads the questions out loud to the applicant and the latter is then given the completed form for his review. This was confirmed by the Higher Regional Court [Oberlandesgericht - OLG] of Hamm.

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The function of health apps is based on the processing of personal data. This data is often sensitive health data. Appropriate data protection standards and mature data security concepts are therefore of great importance to supervisory authorities and users.

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Oppenhoff advised Storskogen Deutschland GmbH on the acquisition of a majority stake in the building technology installations specialist Christ & Wirth Haustechnik GmbH as part of a succession solution.

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Oppenhoff has advised the EIC Fund on eight investments in German start-ups. The EIC Fund is the special fund of the European Innovation Council and thus the investment vehicle of the European Commission. Its purpose is to implement the European Commission's EIC Accelerator Programme, which aims to support innovative and sustainable European growth companies.

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Oppenhoff has advised RHODIUS Group on the carve-out and sale of its abrasive tools division to the Indian CUMI Group. With the strategic integration into the CUMI Group, RHODIUS Schleifwerkzeuge is expanding its ongoing growth strategy at its Burgbrohl site.

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Flexibility, family-friendliness and personal, professional training: this is the clear focus of the commercial law firm Oppenhoff’s new remuneration package for its lawyers. In addition, young professionals can now look forward to a salary of up to €125,000 per year, which can rise to €240,000 over time.

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Oppenhoff has advised Schoofs Immobilien GmbH Frankfurt on the sale of the prestigious "Fünf-Häuser-Quartier" project known as “Neue Mitte” in the centre of the Dreieich district of Sprendlingen to the Corestate Capital Group. Corestate acquired the building complex for its open-ended special fund "Stadtquartiere I" for around 43 million euros.

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The Transparency Register is being made a full register. All legal entities under private law and all partnerships entered in the Commercial Register must register their "real" or "fictitious" beneficial owners. First deadlines expire in March 2022. Is my company obliged to register? If so - by when?

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The progressive development of new technologies is also leading to new fields of application and innovations in the healthcare industry. In the third quarter of 2020, nearly 49,000 medical health apps were available for download from the Apple App Store worldwide. With all these rapid developments, legal hurdles cannot be ignored. We provide an overview of the regulatory classification of health apps and the associated data protection and liability issues.

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Oppenhoff has advised Schoofs Immobilien GmbH Frankfurt on the sale of the Rastal-Center, which is currently under construction, in the form of a share deal to the Irish investment fund manager Greenman and its fund Greenman OPEN.

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Since 2017, companies have been required to submit a non-financial statement on their corporate social responsibility compliance for each financial year. The existing reporting standards, which are considered inadequate, are to be revised by mid-2022 and will already become mandatory for the 2023 reporting year, and for small and medium-sized listed companies from 2026 onwards. Affected companies are advised to monitor ongoing developments, address their own reporting obligations in good time and already set up the appropriate structures now.

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The German Federal Labour Court [Bundesarbeitsgericht - BAG] has ruled on important issues relating to short-time work, simultaneously providing both legal certainty and surprises. Our labour law experts explain the key points of the decisions below.

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Oppenhoff has advised VHV Allgemeine Versicherung AG on the acquisition of 91.1 percent of the shares in the Northern Italian ITAS subsidiary Assicuratrice Val Piave SpA. The remaining shares are held by external shareholders. The acquisition is still subject to clearance by the Italian authorities.

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Oppenhoff has advised Munich-based private equity investor Family Trust on all legal aspects of the acquisition of the outsourcing service provider novia Handels GmbH & Co. KG, which is headquartered in Iserlohn and has subsidiaries in Hong Kong and China.

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Oppenhoff has advised the AustriaEnergy Group on the complex structuring of a cutting edge Power-to-X joint venture with its partner Ökowind and the Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The joint venture’s purpose is the joint ownership and joint development of the HNH Project in the region of Magallanes in the south of Chile.

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The Higher Administrative Court [Verwaltungsgerichtshof - VGH] of Munich has confirmed that so-called "old hands" are exempt from the examination of their expertise (“Sachkundeprüfung”) as insurance brokers, but not from the obligation to undergo regular further training (decision of 12 August 2021, 22 ZB 20.1840).

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The new Competition Register is not without consequences for companies. The impact on business with the public sector is all too readily underestimated. A company’s entry in the Competition Register on grounds of a criminal or administrative offence leads to its mandatory or optional exclusion from public procurement procedures for at least three years. Does this just have to be accepted? No. The entry can be deleted prematurely through successful self-cleaning measures.

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Oppenhoff has advised the founders and shareholders of the Sunovis Group on the sale of the enterprise to the asset manager Brookfield. The sale took place within the framework of a competitive bidding procedure set up by Lazard. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

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The German Lobby Register Act (Lobbyregistergesetz - LobbyRG) came into force at the beginning of 2022. Since 1 January 2022, it has been possible to register on the website of the German Bundestag, as the registration office, and to make entries in the lobby register.

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On 24 November 2021, the new coalition agreement of the forthcoming government of SPD, Bündnis90/Die Grünen and FDP was published. In the form of a short series of articles, we would like to inform you over the next few days of the statements contained in the coalition agreement on labour law topics and the concrete effects of the plans. Today’s topic: (company) pension provisions.

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