Employment contract

The most important thing to start with: The employment contract regulates all important conditions of the professional activity. This can be concluded both verbally and in writing.

However, it is possible that such a contract may contain invalid clauses, such as flat-rate compensation for overtime or relocation. However, the employer cannot rely on these provisions.

What does the employment contract regulate?

The employment contract is the legal basis for working life. It is therefore of particular importance for employees and employers.

The two main obligations of the contract are:

• The employee must work.
• The employer pays a salary for the work performed.

In addition to these main obligations, the employment contract also contains other specific provisions:

• Start & termination of the employment relationship
• Place of work (possibly also home office)
• Weekly working hours
• Trial period & notice period
• Vacation & compensation

In addition, the employment contract gives rise to special duties of loyalty and care for both employer and employee.

If an employee breaches their duties, the employer can issue them with a warning. In the event of recurrence, dismissal is also possible. This is the case, for example, if the employee fails to come to work without an excuse.

Is an employment contract always in writing?

Legally, it is not actually necessary for an employment contract to be in writing. However, it is usually the case that both the employee and the employer sign the contract.

Such a contract is useful for both parties, as all important regulations are recorded in it and can be read at any time. Thanks to the written version, both sides also have something to fall back on in the event of a dispute.

The employer should at least issue the employee with a written document. This contains all the essential terms of the contract and the employee’s signature.

Typical regulations

An employment contract contains many pages. In addition to the clear agreements, such as salary, vacation days, etc., there is also a lot of small print. This means that a well-negotiated contract is probably the best prerequisite for positive and constructive work.

The employee should carefully check in advance whether all the points that are important to them are listed. If there are clauses that are unclear, the employee will usually ask further questions.

We list 4 typical provisions of an employment contract below:

Vacation: The contract stipulates the vacation days to which the employee is entitled per year. According to the law, employees are entitled to at least 20 days with a 5-day week. In many cases, however, employers now offer up to 30 days. In addition, the longer an employee has been with the company, the more vacation days they may be entitled to. Such an arrangement is perfectly permissible.

Probationary period: A probationary period is also agreed in the contract. The following clause can be found in many contracts: “A probationary period of six months applies. During this probationary period, either party may terminate the employment relationship by giving two weeks’ notice on any day.” If this clause is not included in the contract, then the employment relationship was concluded without a probationary period.

Notice period: As a rule, the notice period is regulated in the employment contract. For protection, the employer may not fall short of statutory or collectively agreed notice periods in the contract. Longer notice periods, on the other hand, are permitted, but with one restriction: the same applies to employers and employees.

Fixed-term contract: In general, an open-ended contract is better than a fixed-term contract. It is still common for fixed-term contracts to be agreed initially in some sectors. A fixed term is possible if there is an objective reason for it. This can be, for example, a parental leave replacement.

Without a reason, a fixed term is permitted for a maximum of two years. It should be noted that a time limit must always be set in writing.

Illegal clauses

It is not uncommon to find inadmissible clauses in employment contracts. We present the 2 most common ones:

1. “Required overtime is compensated with the salary.” This clause is invalid as it is not clear when overtime is required.
2. “The employer reserves the right to assign the employee to another job.” This clause is also inadmissible, as the interests of the employee are not sufficiently taken into account.