Monthly Dose of Germany: December 2025

Authors: Rafael Hertz, Niklas C. Gradinaroff. 

Employers headquartered outside Germany employ staff in Germany in numerous areas, such as sales, local technical support, and IT, who often work from home due to a lack of their own domestic premises. The relevant law regarding the protection against dismissal of these employees is – provided that the employment relationship is subject to German law – the Protection Against Dismissal Act (KSchG). Outside the scope of the KSchG (and regardless of regulations on special protection against dismissal), employees do not generally enjoy comprehensive protection against dismissal. According to Section 23 (1) KSchG, this protection against dismissal generally only applies in companies that regularly employ more than ten full-time employees, with part-time employees being taken into account on a pro rata basis. The legal requirements in Germany must be met, which is why, for example, the number of employees working abroad is irrelevant.

Authors: Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Leonie Scharwächter, Elisa Ultsch, Katharina Gohlke, Katja Sartori-Röthke. 

The legislative process for the Banking Directive Implementation and Bureaucracy Relief Act (BRUBEG) is moving into the Bundestag—and will be the subject of the first reading at the session on 17 December 2025. The federal government published an updated draft of the bill on 3 December 2025.

Authors: Dr. Hannes Bracht, Dr. Till Contzen, Klaus Gresbrand, Matthias Meinert.

Reviewing and updating IT-related supplier contracts to match the numerous requirements formulated by DORA poses a tough challenge to financial entities, especially given the 17 January 2025 deadline. An efficient, systematic and digitally enabled review process is key to ensuring a DORA-compliant contract landscape.

Author: Alireza Siadat, M.J.I.

ESMA will "replace" NCAs. What is the Commission proposing regarding CASPs under MiCAR?

Authors: Frank Tschentscher and  Christina Wöste. 

Federal Court of Justice protects core function of D&O insurance: Insurers liable for claims against managing directors for reduction of assets.

Alireza Siadat wins Client Choice Award in the Fintech category.Francis Bellen, Dr. Katharina Scheja and Alireza Siadat recommended as leading practitioners

Authors: Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Elisa Ultsch, Katja Sartori-Röthke, Niklas C. Gradinaroff.

The ninth edition of our Monthly Dose Employment Law 2025 on current case law explains the judgments of(1) the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) dated 8 May 2025 (8 AZR 209/21) on the admissibility under data protection law of the use of personal data in the test operation of AI-supported HR-Software;(2) of the BAG dated 3 June 2025 (9 AZR 104/24) on the (in)effectiveness of waiving statutory (minimum) vacation entitlements in a labor court settlement;(3) of the BAG dated 16 April 2025 (7 AZR 80/24) on the admissibility of remuneration for work performed in cryptocurrency as payment in kind;(4) of the BAG dated 18 June 2025 (7 AZR 50/24) on the admissibility of unfounded fixed-term employment contracts for works council members and(5) of the Lower Saxony Regional Labor Court dated 25 April 2025 (17 TaBV 62/24) on the entitlement of individual works council members to a personalised email address for external communication.