The articles of a German stock corporation may allow the chair of the shareholders’ meeting to limit how long shareholders speak and ask questions. In 2010 the Federal Court of Justice upheld such a clause. Under it, the chair may limit speaking time so that the meeting lasts no longer than six hours when only routine items are voted on, and no longer than ten hours otherwise. Each contribution may be limited to 15 minutes, or to 10 minutes if at least three more speakers are waiting. At 22:30 the chair may close the debate. The court explained the timing. In the legislator’s view, an ordinary meeting should be completed in four to six hours. And a meeting called for one day, the court added, regelmäßig um Mitternacht des Einberufungstages beendet sein sollte, should as a rule be finished by midnight of that day.
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Ready for an Apprenticeship
In 2006 the partners of Germany’s national pact for vocational training approved a list of criteria for Ausbildungsreife, readiness for an apprenticeship. The Federal Employment Agency published it, and career advisers use it to judge whether a school-leaver is ready to start training. Under the criterion of reliability, the first sign is this: Sie/er erscheint pünktlich zum vereinbarten Termin (Unterricht, Praktikum, Beratungsgespräch). He or she arrives on time for the agreed appointment, whether a class, an internship or a guidance interview.
The Works Council’s Circle
Members of a German works council learn things that the company wants to keep secret. Section 79 of the Works Constitution Act forbids them to disclose or use trade secrets that they learned as council members and that the employer has marked as secret. The duty continues after they leave the council. The same section then names the people to whom it does not apply: the other members of the works council, the council bodies at company and group level, the employee representatives on the supervisory board and a few other bodies of employee representation. Within these bodies the information may move. Outside them, the duty continues even after the member leaves the council.
The Bank Reference
Every customer of a German bank agrees to its general terms and conditions. At Deutsche Bank, the terms first oblige the bank to keep silent about all facts and assessments that concern the customer. They then allow one exception, the Bankauskunft, the bank reference. It contains only general statements about the customer’s financial situation. It never gives amounts for account balances, savings or deposits. And the bank gives it only to its own customers and to other banks, and for private customers only with their consent.
The Family Firm’s Figures
German corporations, including limited companies, had to publish their annual accounts in the electronic Federal Gazette. For the financial year 2007, about 200,000 companies did not publish theirs on time. A 2009 article in a journal for business practitioners gave the reason many owners resist. Publication gives customers, suppliers and even the company’s own employees a view of its financial situation. Many of these companies belong to families or family branches.
Thinking in Departments
das Ressortdenken — thinking only within one’s own area of responsibility. In 2000 the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported a Green politician’s complaint that Ressortdenken had spread in the government over non-wage labor costs.
das Silodenken — silo thinking. A dictionary defines it as an attitude that follows only one’s own interests and sets itself apart from other groups. It marks the word as pejorative.
das Abteilungsdenken — thinking in departments.
These words are used as criticism. German speakers name the habit of keeping information within one’s own unit, and they name it as a fault.
On the Notice Board
German employers must make certain laws available at work. The Working Hours Act requires them to lay out or post a copy of the act zur Einsichtnahme, for inspection, at a suitable place in the company. The General Equal Treatment Act must be made known in the same way, together with the office that receives complaints. The employer delivers the text to the notice board or the intranet. Reading it is up to the employee.
Pay Information on Request
The Pay Transparency Act, in force since July 2017, gives employees in Germany the right to find out what colleagues of the other sex earn for similar work. The information is not given automatically. The employee must ask for it in writing, and the right applies only in establishments with more than 200 employees. Surveys in 2018 and 2022 both found that about four percent of employees had made such a request.
An EU directive of 2023 moves this obligation to the employer. Employers must tell staff about the right every year and state pay ranges when they hire. The member states had until 7 June 2026 to adopt it. As of September 2026, Germany had not yet passed the law to implement it.
The Supervisory Board Must Ask
The German Stock Corporation Act gives the supervisory board the right to demand a report from the management board at any time. In October 2025 the Federal Court of Justice made clear that this right is also a duty. If reports are missing, the supervisory board must demand them, follow up and, if necessary, apply pressure. Informal conversations are not enough.
What the Employer Tells, What the Employee Asks
The Works Constitution Act draws a line. Under Section 81, the employer must inform each employee about their tasks and responsibilities and the kind of work they do. Under Section 82, the employee kann verlangen, can demand, that the calculation and composition of their pay be explained and that their performance and career prospects be discussed. Under Section 83, the employee has the right to see their personnel file. The employer must bring the basics of the job, and the risks that come with it. For much of the rest, the employee must ask.