Attualità

In its decision of January 26, 2012 (Ref.: C 586/10), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) allowed entering into successive employment contracts. According to the judgment of Luxembourg judges, the extension of fixed-term employments over many years is permitted if there is a material reason to do so and which may consist in a “temporary” need for substitution.

In international transactions it is rather usual to agree on the performance of arbitration proceedings to settle legal disputes.

The advantages included particularly the fact that in case of dispute it was unnecessary to deal with any other court system and its imponderabilities. Moreover, such proceedings are conducted by arbitrators who – as a rule – are experts for the disputed issue subject to solution. Another advantage will certainly be that it is unnecessary to carry on the dispute through several court levels.

The high costs associated with arbitration proceedings, however, kept off many from agreeing on arbitration proceedings lately.

Effective as of January 1, 2012 two previously independent law firms at a time join SNP: Döderlein Heffinger & Partner with their offices in Frankfurt-on-Main and Dresden as well as Damlachi & Hahn Rechtsanwälte, of Frankfurt-on-Main.

For the time being, the Frankfurt SNP office operates with eight attorneys at law. In Dresden SNP is represented with two attorneys.

Prior to the festive days, especially at the turn of the year, much work is done, often enough more that legally permitted and contractually agreed. Orders should still be finished in the old year, or there is staff shortage because colleagues went on Christmas and New Year's holidays before. This entails extra work or quite some overtime, respectively.

Not Only Public Employers Have to Consider Filling Vacant Jobs with Severely Disabled Persons

Employers are under the obligation to check whether vacant jobs can be filled with severely disabled persons, especially such registered as unemployed or job-seeking with the German employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit). This is the legislator’s requirement which provided the relevant regulation in section 81 of the German Code of Social Security (Sozialgesetzbuch/SGB) IX and established the rights of severely disabled persons and the duties of the employers. Employers recruiting severely disabled persons must not discriminate them for their disability (section 81 para. 2 of the SGB IX). The details are defined in the German General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz/AGG). The duty to consider severely disabled persons when it comes to fill vacant jobs is directed towards each employer and not only towards public agencies offering vacant jobs.