News

The Corona crisis raises numerous legal questions. Our experts can answer them - and everyone is available to you. Below you will find important information, dates and consulting topics.

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Status determination proceedings aim to provide legal certainty as to whether someone is self-employed or employed. This is primarily of relevance for the social security obligation. The wish for a reform of status determination proceedings according to § 7a German Social Code Book IV [Sozialgesetzbuch IV - SGB IV] has existed for some time. There was a need for more legal certainty and transparency, and a less lengthy procedure. The Bundestag had - largely unnoticed by the public - passed a corresponding bill on 20 May 2021. The changes are due to come into force on 1 April 2022. Jennifer Bold and Jörn Kuhn explain what changes we can expect and why parts of the reform have to be viewed critically.

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The Minister Presidents’ Conference [Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz] met on 10 August 2021. From 11 October 2021 onwards, free corona tests will no longer be offered to citizens. Companies have been urged to support vaccination. Our partner Jörn Kuhn explains what to look out for when vaccinating in the workplace environment and briefly highlights the key employment law points of yesterday's resolution.

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Oppenhoff has advised VHV Holding AG on the acquisition of InterEurope AG from the private equity fund Elvaston Capital. InterEurope AG continues to exist as an independent enterprise within the VHV Group at the company’s headquarters in Düsseldorf. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

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The holiday season is in full swing and in the first federal states the summer school holidays are already drawing to a close. Many have ventured abroad for the first time in a year and a half - getting out and about at last!" However, in view of rising infection rates, quarantine could become necessary - perhaps taking holidaymakers by surprise. We provide an overview of things to be considered when employees return from holiday.

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Increasing networking and automation in road traffic, large volumes of vehicle data: in this highly dynamic environment, new "data-driven" areas of business for innovative mobility services are currently emerging. Via interfaces, modern vehicles allow communication with other devices in the "Internet of Things" and often enable data collected in the car to be accessed by more than just the car manufacturers.

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Dr. Vanessa Pickenpack and Dr. Anna-Gesine Zimmermann have been interviewed on current topics of dispute resolution for this year’s issue of Lexology GTDT: Market Intelligence.

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The German Federal Labour Court [Bundesarbeitsgericht - BAG] has recently commented on the prerequisites and limits of the reimbursement obligation in case of compliance measures.

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Oppenhoff has elected Lisa Schmitt to junior partner with effect from 1 July 2021.

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Travel has long since ceased to be the sole preserve of people, goods and commodities. Data are also being sent off on their “travels” from A to B. The pandemic has caused passenger travel to be subject to numerous new regulations. New EU standard contractual clauses are also bringing reforms for the "travel" of data to third countries. We are introducing you to the most important new features and simultaneously providing you with the appropriate tool to easily compile the appropriate clauses.

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On 25 June 2021, the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act [Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – LkSG], better known by the less unwieldy term "Supply Chain Act", was also approved by the Bundesrat. Thus, as of 1 January 2023, initially companies with their registered office or a branch office in Germany and over 3,000 domestic employees will be obliged to observe human rights and environmental due diligence obligations in their supply chains in an appropriate manner. From 1 January 2024 onwards, the obligation also extends to companies with over 1,000 employees.

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The Transparency Register is becoming a full register. This results in new notification obligations for many companies - registration in another public register is now no longer sufficient to also fulfil the notification obligations to the Transparency Register. At the same time, many other privileges are being abolished, for example for listed stock corporations or for share deals. Affected companies should review their notification obligations in the near future. If there is no beneficial owner, the legal representatives have to be entered (fictitious beneficial owners).

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Driverless vehicles on the road - in regulatory terms, the German legislators are clearing the way. The pending Act is an interim solution that is not convincing on all points. The goal is to achieve an international legal framework. Our expert Dr. Angela Busche ex-plains the new regulations and points out the omissions.

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Far-reaching changes to the German Civil Code will come into force on 1 January. Companies in the retail and consumer goods sectors in particular will be affected by this. Just under six months are left before their implementation. Additionally, all (in-house) lawyers should familiarise them-selves with the new definition of defects in sales law. Patrick Vapore and Jörn Kuhn have sum-marised the main changes.

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The reform of foundations law is on its way: at last, there is going to be a uniform German law on foundations and several legal uncertainties that have existed to date will be eliminated. However, a central Foundations Register is also going to be introduced, which will bring this hitherto very non-transparent legal form much more into the public eye - this has both advantages and disadvantages. Founders and the executive bodies of foundations should use the time available until the law takes effect to check whether they need to act. Our experts have summarised the most important changes for you in our newsletter.

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It looks like the prayers of compliance officers, legal departments and managing directors have finally been heard: Within the scope of this year's amendment of German antitrust law (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen - GWB), the legislator has expressly stipulated for the first time in the new § 81d (1) No. 4 GWB that already existing compliance systems can be taken into consideration when determining fines with the effect of reducing sanctions. Outside of antitrust law, however, legal offenders are denied the consideration of preventive compliance measures (for the time being), now that the Coalition buried the German Corporate Sanctions Act (Ver-bandssanktionengesetz - VerSanG) this summer.

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On 1 July 2021 an amendment to the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance [SARS-CoV-2-Arbeitsschutzverordnung] came into force, which allows more freedom whilst still containing clear requirements. With the end of the obligation to work from the home office, companies face the increasing risk that employees will establish a permanent individual claim to home office work if they continue to work from home. Our partner Jörn Kuhn has compiled an overview of the current framework conditions under occupational health and safety law and of home office situations.

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The pandemic is currently losing some of its momentum in our day-to-day social and business life due to the progressing vaccination programme and seasonal peculiarities. However, with the usual delay, individual and collective law issues in connection with the pandemic are now increasingly the subject of labour court decisions

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The German Act to Modernise the Law on Partnerships (MoPeG) - long overdue and in planning for over a year. It was established at the end of last week: the new regulations will enter into force on 1 January 2024. The new Act extensively adapts the legislative text to the state of the art in case law and contractual practice. A need for action nevertheless exists, especially for civil law partnerships (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts - GbR), but also for general partnerships (Offene Handelsgesellschaft - OHG) and limited partnerships (Kommanditgesellschaft - KG).

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38 lawyers of the leading commercial law firm Oppenhoff have been distinguished as Best Lawyers in Germany 2022. The ranking is based on a peer-group procedure in which recommendations are made by colleagues from other law firms.

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As the number of vaccinations increases and the number of infections continues to decrease, it is time to come to terms with the crisis and structure New Work. Risks that were previously accepted may now no longer be acceptable. Companies suspect that problems exist. This has been shown by a survey by Deloitte ("The future of compliance 2020 - higher risk of future violations"). However, the risks expected according to the study do not cover all of the actual compliance risks. This article offers a first interdisciplinary overview of the compliance risks triggered by the pandemic and increasing digitisation, especially through the home office and the like. The risks necessitate an adjustment of existing compliance management systems.

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Despite falling infection rates and progressive vaccination, many companies are still heavily burdened by pandemic-related restriction measures. On 9 June 2021, the Federal Cabinet therefore adopted the Third Ordinance Amending the Short-Time Work Benefit Ordinance to extend the facilitated access to short-time work benefit and full reimbursement of social security contributions until 30 September 2021. At the same time, the Cabinet approved the extension of Bridging Aid III until the end of September 2021 as well as a restart premium for companies.

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The EU Whistleblower Directive, which sets uniform standards to better protect whistleblowers, already came into force on 16 December 2019. The EU member states have until 17 December 2021 to transpose the requirements into national law. The German Federal Ministry of Justice [Bundesministerium für Justiz] has presented a corresponding draft bill in the form of the so-called Whistleblower Protection Act [Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz - HinSchG], albeit that the coalition partners have not yet been able to agree on it, as it extends far beyond the requirements of the EU Directive.

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Oppenhoff has represented Deutsche Lufthansa in a successful action before the General Court of the European Union (T-218/18). In a judgment of 19 May 2021, the Court annulled a decision of the European Commission by which the authority had authorized the state of Rhineland-Palatinate to cover operating losses of Hahn Airport of up to 25.3 million euro in the time period from 2017 to 2021.

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Last Friday, 21 May 2021, the Bundestag passed the German Works Council Modernisation Act [Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz]. Core issues of the Act are the strengthening of the work conducted by works councils and digitisation. There has been and is plenty of criticism of the changes. In particular, the legislator has failed to address the question of whether the co-determination criterion for introducing and using technical devices to monitor conduct and performance need to be modified in view of the ongoing digitisation of corporate processes.

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