Exclusion clauses in employment contracts
> September 2016
Important: amendment to legislation (Section 309(13) of the German Civil Code)!Most employment contracts contain exclusion clauses which state that any claims arising from employment will lapse unless they are submitted in writing within a certain amount of time of becoming due (e.g. three months). Clauses like these make sense because they make it obvious relatively quickly that claims will not be made. This eliminates the risk of having to deal with significant claims months or years down the line. The written form requirement was previously covered by law. “Written form” means: correspondence with an original signature written by one’s own hand (i.e. emails or faxes are not allowed). From 01/10/2016, any clause containing a written form requirement for claims will be rendered void. However, this only applies to employment contracts which come into effect after 01/10/2016.
When drawing up new employment contracts or amending existing ones, we therefore urgently recommend amending exclusion clauses with a written form requirement to the effect that claims can be made in simple text form (e.g. email, fax) to prevent them lapsing.
Any exclusion clause with a written form requirement in an employment contract which came into force before 01/10/2016 will remain in effect. New contracts must be prepared in accordance with the new legislation.
