Dear Madam or Sir,
the first issue of our 2016 Newsletter begins by examining the decision of the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Labor Court on the permissibility of fixed-term employment contracts in the area of professional sports. The case at hand involved "Heinz Müller", the former Mainz 05 goalkeeper. Unlike the lower court, the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Labor Court rejected the plaintiff's action to have his employment declared permanent thereby making it clear that fixed-term employment contracts with professional athletes for objective reasons are possible and permissible at least in the area of football.
In addition, we consider the question presented to the Federal Labor Court of whether employers may issue formal warnings to members of the works council. Finally, we turn our attention to matters of great significance in practice, namely the use of the Internet and email at work as well as the application of employment law rules to external managing directors of private limited companies. The trend here indicates that more protection is available to managing directors in this respect.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us!
Best regards
Your GÖRG Labour and Employment Team
