Since 2 July 2023 the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz, has protected people who report violations at work. Employers with, as a rule, at least 50 employees must set up an internal reporting office. A whistleblower may choose between an internal and an external reporting office. The law adds that whistleblowers should prefer the internal office in cases where the violation can be dealt with effectively inside the organization and they do not fear reprisals. Reprisals against whistleblowers are forbidden.
Piëch Keeps His Distance
On 10 April 2015 Ferdinand Piëch, chair of Volkswagen’s supervisory board, told Der Spiegel: Ich bin auf Distanz zu Winterkorn. I am keeping my distance from Winterkorn. Martin Winterkorn was the company’s chief executive. A week later, the presidium of the supervisory board called Winterkorn the best possible chief executive and proposed extending his contract. According to the news agency dpa, the other five members of the presidium all stood against Piëch. On 25 April Piëch resigned from all his posts at Volkswagen with immediate effect.
The Chancellor Uses His Directive Power
In October 2022, the Greens and the FDP in Olaf Scholz’s government disagreed on how long Germany’s last three nuclear plants should run. On 17 October, Scholz settled it in a letter. He invoked his Richtlinienkompetenz, the chancellor’s power to set the guidelines of policy, under § 1 of the federal government’s rules of procedure. He instructed the ministers Habeck, Lemke and Lindner to draft the laws needed to keep Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland running until 15 April 2023 at the latest. A journalist said on Swiss radio that day: Es ist tatsächlich ungewöhnlich, in Deutschland als Kanzler die Richtlinienkompetenz zu ziehen. It is indeed unusual in Germany for a chancellor to use the directive power.
The Duty to Keep the Peace
German labor law speaks of peace here. While a collective wage agreement is in force, neither side may take industrial action, strikes or lockouts, over the matters it settles. This is the Friedenspflicht, the duty to keep the peace. It does not have to be written into the agreement, because it is considered inherent in every collective agreement. Strikes over matters the agreement does not cover remain allowed. Inside a company, the law goes further. Industrial action between employer and works council is not allowed at all, and both must avoid anything that disturbs den Frieden des Betriebs, the peace of the workplace.
Say It to the Board
On 7 November 2009, the Süddeutsche Zeitung published an interview with the Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm that the club had not approved. Lahm criticized the quality of the squad, the transfer policy and the lack of a clear philosophy: Man darf Spieler nicht einfach kaufen, weil sie gut sind. (You cannot simply buy players because they are good.) Two days later, Lahm met the board. He apologized for the way he had done it and for the tone, and he accepted a fine. The club’s statement said that Lahm has accepted that it would have been better to express his opinion directly to the board. Lahm later revealed in his book that the fine was 50,000 euros.
Words for escalation
Etwas hochkochen lassen — to let something boil up. Said of a person who allowed a conflict to escalate, and it is an accusation.
Das schaukelt sich hoch — it rocks itself up, a conflict building through mutual response.
Öl ins Feuer gießen — to pour oil on the fire.
Die Wogen glätten — to smooth the waves, the approving description of what a good manager does.
The service path
The service path. The German term for the prescribed sequence through which a matter travels upward. Going around it — am Dienstweg vorbei — is itself a breach, separate from whatever the underlying complaint was.
The complaints body
Die Beschwerdestelle. German equal treatment law requires every employer to designate a body to which employees may bring complaints, and to inform staff that it exists. The route out of a private grievance is provided in advance, by statute.
Works peace
Betriebsfrieden. Works peace. A concept in German labour law: the works council and employer are under a statutory duty to cooperate in a spirit of mutual trust and to refrain from acts that disturb it. Peace inside the firm is a legal object, with duties attached to preserving it.
The written warning
Die Abmahnung. German employment law generally requires a formal written warning before a conduct-based dismissal, stating the behaviour, why it is unacceptable, and what happens if it recurs. The employer cannot escalate directly. The law inserts a step and requires it to be documented.