Guides and videos on what really matters to clients: dismissal and severance, unpaid invoices, construction contracts, starting a company. Written the way we advise — concretely and without legalese. Every guide is also available in Polish and German.
LG Frankfurt awarded the buyer €7,535.57 in repair costs but only €350 of the €122,325 loss of use he claimed. Burden of proof, deleted fault memory, default interest and the 93 per cent cost trap.
The Regional Court of Cologne itemised the unwinding of a used-car sale: full price, deduction for kilometres driven, trade-in under a separate contract, interest, lawyer’s fees and the dealer’s default of acceptance.
A court ordered defect rectification and nothing happened. KG Berlin: EUR 58,502 advance based on market offers and free choice of contractor for the creditor.
A nurse claimed 30,000 euros for bullying and lost twice. The court explains where ordinary conflict ends, where bullying begins and what employees must prove.
The notice came first, the medical confirmation later. The Federal Labour Court clarifies when the deadlines start and when a late claim is admitted.
A dealer form with checkboxes: „used vehicle, history unknown, accidents possible”. OLG Köln: such clauses do not bind consumers — rescission and a refund are possible.
Market price, an advert saying „undamaged” — and suddenly „Bastlerfahrzeug” in the contract. OLG Celle: without specific defects named, the clause does not hold.
After acceptance the burden of proof lies with the client. What a private expert report is worth and which questions dismantle it at the hearing.
Sick beyond six weeks? Performance pay may be cut proportionately even where targets were met (BAG 10 AZR 193/24). Christmas pay is protected by the 1/4 cap of § 4a EFZG.
Management fixed the targets internally and paid 49 percent. The Federal Labour Court (10 AZR 28/25): employees can claim the full target bonus — the 100 percent presumption covers company targets too.
The engine died ten days after purchase, thousands of kilometres from the seller. The court made the seller pay for transport — with an advance on top.
How to obtain the § 48b EStG exemption certificate, which tax office is responsible for foreign companies and how to recover withheld amounts.
What VOB/B is, how it really differs from the BGB and where the formal traps lie — a pillar guide with a map of all our construction articles.
A formal acceptance can be valid without the contractor, and payment can be claimed where the work is ready for acceptance — lessons from OLG Schleswig 1 U 5/21.
The employer is generally not liable for preceding trades. What remains is section 642 BGB: a disruption notice, proof of specific idle resources and the redeployment trap.
A site manager without authority cannot agree hourly work, and unclear specifications are the bidder’s risk — lessons from OLG Brandenburg 10 U 84/25.
The basic period, the seniority extension and probation under sec. 622 BGB. Why years before age 25 count, why an e-mail is not enough and which two deadlines follow.
When the duty arises, what a court-proof invitation contains, how to document the process and how to close a BEM when the employee goes silent. Guide with checklist.
Without a proper BEM the employer must prove the procedure would have been useless — which almost never succeeds. Typical mistakes, the Integration Office and the three-week deadline.
After six weeks of sick leave your employer must offer a BEM. Participation is voluntary, you may bring a lawyer, and no blanket data consent is required. What refusal costs you — and what it does not.
A governing law clause does not do everything: it neither excludes the CISG nor decides which court hears the dispute nor overrides mandatory provisions. How to draft it well.
A posting company pays 14.7% into the holiday fund and the A1 certificate does not shield it. When the obligation arises, how the general contractor is liable and how to respond to a payment order.
No social security on severance pay, but full income tax. The Fünftelregelung step by step, a 2026 worked example and why a tax return is now essential.
The workforce demands a colleague’s dismissal and the employer gives in. The strict BAG test, warnings during sick leave, sick pay and the Christmas bonus. A Munich labour court case study.
A concealed total loss and a generic note in the invoice. LG Köln: the formula fails the § 476 BGB test — the consumer recovers the purchase price.
The § 626(2) BGB clock starts when the employer learns the facts, and a prior hearing can bar summary dismissal. ArbG Arnsberg 1 Ca 877/25 explained.
Courts can order 80 % of the change-order offer as an interim payment, also under VOB/B — if the offer was concrete, the change concerned the works and the application came in time.
Default of acceptance, deadline notice with termination warning, written form under § 650h BGB and settlement under § 645 BGB — step by step.
Getting paid also for unperformed works: the verifiable final invoice, settling “from the top” up to 5 per cent, VAT after the ECJ ruling and the formula AWE = T × A.
Actual costs plus a 1.05–1.2 markup, breakdown into material, plant and labour, § 650f BGB security and the 1 % cap on percentage invoice deductions.
DIS arbitration, a waiver of the AGB review, a 10% contractual penalty — what the Federal Court of Justice decided in I ZB 48/24 and what to check before signing.
A customs check, 103,000 euros in back contributions and a contract that did not help. How German courts assess subcontractor status on site.
BAG ruling: advice, canvassing and warehouse time all count towards construction time. How to assess your own company and push back against average-wage claims.
When a German construction contract can be terminated without notice, which warnings must come first and how the completed works are settled afterwards.
The advance on expert fees, acceptance as the turning point, defects repaired without documentation — the burden-of-proof rules that decide German construction disputes.
“Unter Ausschluss jeglicher Gewährleistung”? Under BGH case law a blanket exclusion in a form contract is invalid even between businesses — and it never covers fraud.
A sick note matching the notice period to the day, certificates from abroad, online sick notes without examination — recent BAG and LAG rulings on when sick pay can be withheld.
More than 220 days on sick leave in five years — and the employee won. One-off illnesses are deducted, and up to six weeks a year is the employer’s own risk.
Nearly 90,000 km vanished from the odometer — and the buyer still lost in court. What really decides odometer-fraud cases and how to secure evidence.
The car burned out four months after purchase, the cause was never established — and the buyer still had a chance to win. How the one-year presumption works.
Step by step: from the delivery date and formal checks to the claim decision. With a deadline calculator.
Half a salary per year is only the starting point. What the amount really depends on.
Germany’s mutual termination agreement explained in English: differences from a dismissal, severance from 0.5 salaries per year, the 12-week benefit suspension and the clauses to check before signing.
Obstruction notices, reservation notices, the final invoice — the duties that cost the most when ignored.
The Bauhandwerkersicherung — the most effective lever most companies do not know.
Who the construction leave fund covers, how to obtain refunds and what to watch when posting workers.
Two weeks to object, one month if served abroad. The enforcement order, limitation effects and the creditor route via AG Wedding — a complete guide.
Three years from year-end under secs. 195, 199 BGB, five and 30-year periods, suspension by lawsuit or Mahnbescheid, restart under sec. 212 BGB.
From the notary appointment to the commercial register — with a realistic timeline and cost list.
A comparison in numbers: liability, taxes and credibility with business partners.
Insolvency proceedings from the creditor’s view: deadlines, the claims schedule, realistic recovery.
“Stets zur vollen Zufriedenheit” is not a compliment? The grade code and your right to a correction.
A warning is often the prelude to dismissal. When it is unjustified and how to respond.
Good cause under sec. 626 BGB, the employer’s two-week deadline and the defence strategy.
Claim, conciliation hearing, judgment — the process, costs and duration.
Six weeks of full pay, then sickness benefit. And the myth that you cannot be dismissed while on sick leave.
A1 certificates and notifications, SOKA-BAU, trade law, construction withholding tax and contract choice — the map before market entry.
Requirements for a verifiable final invoice, the review period and the trap of unreserved acceptance.
Faulty design, unsuitable ground, others’ mistakes: how to give notice so you are not liable for defects you did not cause.
When a branch beats a GmbH: registration, liability, taxes and practice.
A1 certificates, customs notification, minimum wage, audit documentation and liability in the subcontractor chain.
Short videos on dismissals, severance and running a business in Germany (in Polish). See how we talk about law before we meet.
An article is a good start, but every case is different. Describe yours — you will get a concrete answer and a quote.
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