Employment

Employment law due diligence. Transfer of undertakings. Reorganisation processes. Transformation processes. Design of new collectively agreed rules and regulations. Profit-sharing models. Post-merger integration.

Changes in plant operations. Whole or partial closure of operations. Outsourcing of activities. Relocation of activities. Staff reduction. Involvement of co-determination committees. Negotiation of balance of interests and social plans. Employment and placement companies. Voluntary leaver schemes. Collective Restructuring agreements. Short-time working. Negotiations with the Federal Employment Agency. Support during staff meetings. Prevention of strikes. Design of media work.

Flexibilisation of remuneration and benefits. Change of tariff environment. Company collective agreements. In-house employment alliances. Working time models. Flexible personnel deployment. Pool concepts. Variable pay schemes. Wage curve regression.

Co-determination matters. Negotiation of works / collective agreements. Guidance in works council / staff council elections. Rearrangements of co-determination structures. Provisional measures.

Employment contracts. Remuneration systems. Termination of employment contracts. Transfer of employees. Warnings. Part-time arrangements. Secondment issues. Non-compete obligations. Job references. Anti-discrimination issues. Specific employment law issues. Employee data protection.

Representation in the labour court. Representation in the European Court of Justice. Representation in conciliation committee proceedings. Pursuing test cases.

Deferred compensation plans. Executive compensation arrangements. Alternative compensation models (Stock Options, Virtual stock option plans (VSOP)). Change in control. Severance agreements. Compensation structure for top managers. Minority shareholdings. Exitbonus agreements. Arrangements for separation. Agreements for employee retention. Golden parachutes.

Evaluation and assessment. Harmonization and reorganization of pension systems. Cash funding for pension liabilities. Choice of the best pension scheme structure. Life cycle models. Negotiation with works councils and trade unions. Tactics and implementation. Opting-out models. Pension and risk management.