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Germany: employment law aspects of the coalition agreement at a glance
The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, titled “Responsibility for Germany,” was announced on April 9, 2025. It outlines the future political strategy for Germany, addressing several aspects of employment law. While the agreement does not include any major breakthroughs or groundbreaking reforms, it initiates several “small-step” changes. Notably, more drastic measures proposed by the SPD, such as the abolition of fixed-term employment without objective reasons, are not included in the final coalition agreement. The key points relevant to businesses operating in Germany are also summarized below: - Inclusion of new self-employed contractors in the statutory retirement system: As already envisaged in the joint paper published after the exploratory talks, the coalition intends to require all new self-employed individuals that are not part of a specific professional retirement scheme (e.g., physicians, lawyers, architects, dentists, etc.) to contribute to the statutory retirement scheme. This will reduce certain financial risks related to ‘false’ self-employment. However, this change is expected to increase costs for businesses working with individual self-employed contractors, as the costs will likely be passed on to the contractors’ business partners.
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Growth and Hurdle Shares in German Start ups – Structures / Practical Implementation / Empirical Data
In German start-ups, Growth Shares are particularly intriguing for motivating key employees and late co-founders. This is especially true when the company has already reached a substantive equity value, making further stakes in the company hardly affordable or burdened with hefty taxes. While for "standard" shares, the latest amendments of sec.19a German Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz – "EStG") now allow to defer the wage tax on the non-cash benefit, a better tax treatment can often be achieved with Growth Shares.
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Growth und Hurdle Shares in deutschen Start-ups – Strukturen / Praktische Umsetzung / Empirische Daten
Mit unseren auf Technologietransaktionen spezialisierten Teams in allen wichtigen globalen Märkten begleiten wir zahlreiche deutsche Technologieunternehmen auf ihrem Wachstumspfad. Als eine der führenden Tech-Kanzleien weltweit ist es unser Ziel, gerade die Gründerszenen in den USA und Deutschland noch stärker zu vernetzen.
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Establishing a Business Entity in Germany (Updated)
Anyone can establish a business in Germany - irrespective of citizenship, nationality, or place of residence. There is no specific investment legislation for foreign entrepreneurs. Any entrepreneur can make his choice from an exclusive group of different types of legal entities to establish a new company in Germany.
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Works Constitution in Germany – An Overview 2025
The concept of works council participation has a long tradition in Germany, dating back to the Weimar Republic following World War I. Information and consultation rights for employee representatives were introduced by the Works Councils Act 1920 (Betriebsrätegesetz). After World War II, the German government built on this tradition by passing the Works Constitution Act 1952 (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz 1952 – BetrVG 1952), which also granted extensive information and consultation rights to works councils. The rights of works councils have since been significantly strengthened by the Works Constitution Act 1972 (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz 1972 – BetrVG), which governs cooperation between employers and works councils. Unlike previous legislation, it gives works councils not only information and consultation rights, but also co-determination rights.