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German law — explained clearly.

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. Articles are currently available in Polish, with translations to follow.

Guides

Articles by practice area

Employment

Notice periods — four weeks or seven months

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.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Employment

BEM for employers — duties, process, proper closure

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Employment

Dismissed after sick leave? The BEM check that decides cases

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Employment

BEM meeting in Germany — your rights after long sick leave

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.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Corporate

Choice of law — Rome I and the CISG trap

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.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Construction

SOKA-BAU when posting workers — rates, A1, defence

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.

≈ 12 min readRead →
Employment

Severance pay tax — how the one-fifth rule works

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Employment

Druckkündigung — dismissal under staff pressure and its strict limits

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.

≈ 11 min readRead →
Cars

Accident-damaged car from Germany — “not accident-free” does not save the dealer

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Employment

Summary dismissal — the two-week deadline and the warning requirement

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.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Construction

The interim payment injunction — fast money for extra work

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.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Construction

Contractor termination — § 643 BGB when the principal fails to cooperate

Default of acceptance, deadline notice with termination warning, written form under § 650h BGB and settlement under § 645 BGB — step by step.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Construction

Compensation for a terminated construction contract — the large termination payment

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.

≈ 10 min readRead →
Construction

Extra work (Nachtrag) — pricing, proof and payment security

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.

≈ 10 min readRead →
Construction

Arbitration clauses in German contracts — how far they reach

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Construction

False self-employment — when a subcontractor is really an employee

A customs check, 103,000 euros in back contributions and a contract that did not help. How German courts assess subcontractor status on site.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Construction

Who falls under SOKA-Bau — fitting windows is construction

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Construction

Terminating a construction contract for cause — § 648a BGB and VOB/B

When a German construction contract can be terminated without notice, which warnings must come first and how the completed works are settled afterwards.

≈ 10 min readRead →
Construction

Construction defects — who must prove them, before and after acceptance

The advance on expert fees, acceptance as the turning point, defects repaired without documentation — the burden-of-proof rules that decide German construction disputes.

≈ 9 min readRead →
Cars

Bought a used car for your business? When the warranty exclusion does not hold

“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.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Employment

Employer refuses sick pay — when a sick note can be challenged

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.

≈ 10 min readRead →
Employment

Dismissal due to illness — it’s not about the number of sick days alone

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Cars

Rolled-back odometer on a car bought in Germany — how to prove it and what to claim

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.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Cars

Car bought in Germany broke down after purchase? Who must prove the defect

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
Employment

Dismissed in Germany — what to do? The 21-day checklist

Step by step: from the delivery date and formal checks to the claim decision. With a deadline calculator.

≈ 8 min readRead →
EmploymentSoon

Severance (Abfindung): when it is due and how to calculate it

Half a salary per year is only the starting point. What the amount really depends on.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Employment

Aufhebungsvertrag — the termination agreement

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.

≈ 10 min readRead →
ConstructionSoon

VOB/B in practice: 7 mistakes subcontractors make

Obstruction notices, reservation notices, the final invoice — the duties that cost the most when ignored.

≈ 9 min readRead →
ConstructionSoon

Sec. 650f BGB: how to force the principal to secure payment

The Bauhandwerkersicherung — the most effective lever most companies do not know.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Construction

SOKA-BAU: contribution duties and refunds for foreign firms

Who the construction leave fund covers, how to obtain refunds and what to watch when posting workers.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Debt collection

Mahnbescheid — what it is and when it pays off

The German court payment order: costs, deadlines, objections and the steps after obtaining a title.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Debt collection

Statute of limitations — the three-year rule and the deadlines that matter

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.

≈ 8 min readRead →
CorporateSoon

GmbH step by step: costs, timing, pitfalls

From the notary appointment to the commercial register — with a realistic timeline and cost list.

≈ 10 min readRead →
Corporate

Sole trade, UG or GmbH — what to start with in Germany?

A comparison in numbers: liability, taxes and credibility with business partners.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Debt collection

Your German partner is insolvent — how to file your claim

Insolvency proceedings from the creditor’s view: deadlines, the claims schedule, realistic recovery.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Employment

Arbeitszeugnis: how to decode a German employment reference

“Stets zur vollen Zufriedenheit” is not a compliment? The grade code and your right to a correction.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Employment

A warning letter from your employer — what it means and how to react

A warning is often the prelude to dismissal. When it is unjustified and how to respond.

≈ 5 min readRead →
Employment

Summary dismissal (fristlose Kündigung) — how to defend yourself

Good cause under sec. 626 BGB, the employer’s two-week deadline and the defence strategy.

≈ 5 min readRead →
Employment

What a case before the German labour court looks like

Claim, conciliation hearing, judgment — the process, costs and duration.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Employment

Sick leave in Germany (Krankschreibung) — your rights

Six weeks of full pay, then sickness benefit. And the myth that you cannot be dismissed while on sick leave.

≈ 5 min readRead →
Construction

Foreign construction companies in Germany — the rules at a glance

A1 certificates and notifications, SOKA-BAU, trade law, construction withholding tax and contract choice — the map before market entry.

≈ 7 min readRead →
Construction

The final invoice (Schlussrechnung) that decides your money

Requirements for a verifiable final invoice, the review period and the trap of unreserved acceptance.

≈ 5 min readRead →
Construction

The reservation notice that protects the contractor

Faulty design, unsuitable ground, others’ mistakes: how to give notice so you are not liable for defects you did not cause.

≈ 5 min readRead →
Corporate

A branch office (Zweigniederlassung) of a foreign company

When a branch beats a GmbH: registration, liability, taxes and practice.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Corporate

Posting workers to Germany — the employer’s duties

A1 certificates, customs notification, minimum wage, audit documentation and liability in the subcontractor chain.

≈ 6 min readRead →
Video

We explain German law — on YouTube

Short videos on dismissals, severance and running a business in Germany (in Polish). See how we talk about law before we meet.

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