Section 266 of the German Civil Code has one sentence. Der Schuldner ist zu Teilleistungen nicht berechtigt. The debtor is not entitled to perform in parts. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the creditor may refuse a partial delivery and wait for the whole. The starting point of German contract law is that what was agreed is delivered complete.
Not Before the Agreed Time
Section 271 of the German Civil Code governs the time of performance. If no time has been set, the creditor can demand performance at once. If a time has been set, the second paragraph applies. Ist eine Zeit bestimmt, so ist im Zweifel anzunehmen, dass der Gläubiger die Leistung nicht vor dieser Zeit verlangen, der Schuldner aber sie vorher bewirken kann. If a time has been set, it is to be assumed, in case of doubt, that the creditor may not demand performance before that time, but the debtor may perform earlier. Once the date is agreed, the creditor waits. The debtor may deliver early.
Only When It Is Obvious
Many German construction contracts include the standard terms known as VOB/B. Section 5 sets the deadlines for the work. It gives the client the right to demand more effort from the contractor in one case. Wenn Arbeitskräfte, Geräte, Gerüste, Stoffe oder Bauteile so unzureichend sind, dass die Ausführungsfristen offenbar nicht eingehalten werden können, muss der Auftragnehmer auf Verlangen unverzüglich Abhilfe schaffen. If workers, equipment, scaffolding, materials or components are so insufficient that the deadlines obviously cannot be met, the contractor must remedy this without delay on request. The condition is in the word offenbar, obviously.
Visitor Posts Need the Works Council
A German group of blood donation services ran a Facebook page. Visitors could post on it without prior review. Some posts were about employees. One complained about how a staff member had placed the needle. Another accused a doctor of skipping a proper examination. The group works council demanded a say. On 13 December 2016, the Federal Labor Court agreed in part. The page itself could stay. The function for visitor posts, however, counts as a technical device for monitoring employees under Section 87 of the Works Constitution Act. Posts about the conduct and performance of employees who can be identified are public, and they can be stored and evaluated. The employer may switch the function on only with the consent of the works council or a decision of the conciliation board.
No Keylogger Without Suspicion
In April 2015, a German employer told its staff by e-mail that internet traffic would be logged. The next day, it installed software on a web developer’s computer. The software recorded every keystroke and took regular screenshots. The data showed some private use during working hours, and the employer dismissed the developer. On 27 July 2017, the Federal Labor Court ruled the dismissal invalid. The employer could not use the keylogger data in court. The court held that such software is allowed only if there is a durch konkrete Tatsachen begründeter Verdacht einer Straftat oder anderen schwerwiegenden Pflichtverletzung, a suspicion of a crime or another serious breach of duty that rests on concrete facts. Monitoring ins Blaue hinein, into the blue, without such a suspicion, is not allowed.
Words for Buying Without Looking
die Katze im Sack kaufen
To buy the cat in the sack. Duden defines it as to buy something without first making sure of its quality or usefulness. It also means to accept something one has not examined.
das Kleingedruckte
The small print. The conditions of a contract printed in small type.
die Rechnung ohne den Wirt machen
To make the bill without the innkeeper. To make plans without counting on a person or a fact that decides the outcome.
The Energy Certificate at the Viewing
A person in Germany who sells or rents out a house or an apartment must show an Energieausweis, an energy certificate, to the interested party. This must happen at the latest during the viewing. The certificate states how much energy the building needs or uses, and it gives an efficiency class. If a certificate exists, the real estate ad must already list key figures from it. These include the energy demand or consumption, the main source of heating energy, the year of construction and the efficiency class. After the contract is signed, the buyer or tenant receives the certificate or a copy. An owner who does not show it in time can be fined up to 10,000 euros.
The Suitability Statement
A German bank that advises a private client on an investment must give the client a Geeignetheitserklärung, a suitability statement, before the contract is concluded. Section 64 of the Securities Trading Act requires it. The statement must name the advice that was given. It must also explain how the advice was matched to the client’s preferences, investment goals and other characteristics. It must be on a durable medium, such as paper or a stored file. Only when the contract is made by telephone or other distance communication may the bank send the statement afterward. Even then, the client must agree, and the bank must offer to delay the order so that the client can read the statement first.
Every Point, or No Contract
Section 154 of the German Civil Code says: Solange nicht die Parteien sich über alle Punkte eines Vertrags geeinigt haben, über die nach der Erklärung auch nur einer Partei eine Vereinbarung getroffen werden soll, ist im Zweifel der Vertrag nicht geschlossen. As long as the parties have not agreed on every point that even one of them wants settled, the contract is, in case of doubt, not concluded. The next sentence adds that agreement on single points is not binding, even if it has been written down. One side only has to name a point as open. Until that point is settled, there is no contract.
Words for Rejecting Someone
jemandem einen Korb geben
To give someone a basket. Duden defines Korb in this sense as a negative answer to an offer or to a proposal of marriage. One of its examples comes from politics. Die FDP gab der CDU in den Koalitionsverhandlungen einen Korb. The FDP rejected the CDU in the coalition talks. Duden traces the phrase to an old custom. A rejected suitor received a small basket without a bottom.
abblitzen
To be turned away, to find no favor. Sie ist bei ihm abgeblitzt. He rejected her.
nicht in die Tüte kommen
Not to go into the bag. Duden defines it as to be out of the question. Das kommt nicht in die Tüte! That is out of the question!