Monthly Dose of Germany: November 2024

Trump 2.0

After the election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States and the Republican Party's victory in both chambers of Congress, it is expected that Donald Trump will soon begin to implement many of the "safeguards" for the US economy that he announced during the election campaign.

In this article, our autor will dicuss what this means for Germany:

• for export-oriented companies with a strong market in the USA
• for companies with Chinese ownership and/or Chinese pre-production and
• how can we support.

Monthly Dose of Employment Law 9/2024

The ninth edition of our Monthly Dose Employment Law in 2024 on current case law explains the judgments of

1. the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) dated 13 March 2024 (10 AZR 555/20) on the unconstitutionality of collective bargaining agreement provisions that differentiate between bonuses for night work and night shift work,
2. the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) of Hamburg dated 8 February 2024 (7 W 11/24) on the obligation to delete anonymous reviews on employer review platforms,
3. the Regional Labour Court (Landesarbeitsgericht, LAG) of Lower Saxony dated 28 February 2024 (13 TaBV 40/23) on the replacement of the works council chairman's consent to a dismissal of a released works council member for time fraud during works council duties,
4. the LAG Cologne dated 2 May 2024 (6 Sa 274/23) on the possibility of rejecting a dismissal due to lack of original power of attorney on the grounds of forfeiture and
5. the European Court of Justice (EJC) dated 16 May 2024 (C-706/22) on the inadmissibility of subsequent negotiations on employee participation in an SE (Societas Europaea).

Cyber Compliance & Breaches

The current cybersecurity landscape is evolving rapidly, influenced by new legal regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), NIS II Directive, and enhanced data protection laws. These regulations aim to bolster the resilience of digital infrastructures, mandate stricter security measures, and ensure more robust protection of personal data.

As cyber threats become more sophisticated and pervasive, compliance with these frameworks is essential for mitigating risks and safeguarding critical systems. Organizations must adapt quickly, enhancing their cybersecurity practices to meet regulatory requirements and protect against escalating cyber threats. But you are not alone: Find out more about the steps towards compliance and legal emergency response.

EU sanctions on Chinese Battery Electric Vehicles - What is important to know now

In October 2024, the European Commission announced countervailing duties for new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) manufactured in the People’s Republic of China and imported into the European Union.

This article examines the impact and options for EU sanctions on Chinese electric vehicles. It explains the background and implications and discusses options for manufacturers, ex- and importers of BEVs from China into the EU.

Transaction News

We at Deloitte Legal Germany are constantly advising on numerous complex transactions and challenging projects.

We would be delighted to explain our services portfolio to you and discuss with you how we at Deloitte Legal Germany can assist you with your projects, whether in the field of Corporate Reorganizations, M&A transactions, including carve-outs, general commercial, employment law, IT/IP or LMC/LMS. Just reach out to us!

In order for you to better understand how we have helped other clients, we would like to hereinafter showcase information on three projects that our teams have recently advised on.

Deloitte Legal advises Vonovia on the sale of a real estate portfolio with a total value of 500 million euros 
The Deloitte Legal Real Estate team, led by Berlin partner Dr Katja Schwenzfeier, has advised Dax-listed Vonovia SE on the sale of eleven development projects to a newly established fund in which HIH Invest Real Estate GmbH has invested alongside Vonovia, Germany's largest housing company. The fund has acquired a further three properties from Quarterback Immobilien AG. The transaction via the joint fund marks the start of the cooperation between Vonovia and HIH Invest.

Read more

Deloitte Legal advises CCE Holding GmbH on a bond issue with a total volume of up to EUR 70 million 
A Deloitte Legal team led by Niko Jakovou and Christoph Meves has advised Vienna-based CCE Holding GmbH on the issue of a bond governed by German law with a total volume of up to EUR 70 million. The bond, which is traded at the Open Market of the Munich Stock Exchange, has a term until year 2027 and bears interest at 9.0% p.a..

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Deloitte Legal and White & Case advise on successful sale of Esprit trademark rights to Deichmann SE 
A Deloitte Legal team led by Hamburg based restructuring partner Frank Tschentscher has advised Esprit Holdings Limited, the Hong Kong-listed parent company of the ESPRIT Group, on the conclusion of a significant agreement with Deichmann SE under which Deichmann acquired the entire European trademark rights as well as the licences for the ESPRIT shoe business in the USA. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the agreement.

Read more

Deloitte Legal Webcast Series

In our German language Deloitte Legal Update webcast series, we address current legal issues and developments that are important for corporate practice.

In our upcoming "Legal Update" webcast we will discuss:

Deloitte Legal Webcast "Legal Update #21/2024"Commercial leases in insolvency - effects, recommendations for action, security instruments 

Wednesday, 04 December 2024 | 11:00 - 11:45 a.m.
Register here (Webcast in German language)

In our Deloitte Legal Update Webcast on December 4, 2024, we will first explain the effects of insolvency on the tenant or landlord side on the commercial lease. We will then outline possible strategies that parties to a commercial lease can pursue if the lease becomes unstable due to the insolvency of one of the parties. In this context, we will address both the situation of a tenant who is confronted with an insolvent landlord and the situation of the landlord in tenant insolvency. We will devote particular attention to the possibilities of securing the rights of use under the tenancy agreement in rem by means of so-called tenant easements. We will illustrate for which case constellations tenant easements come into question and appear to make sense, how the right to use the rental property can also be secured by a tenant easement in the event of insolvency and which pitfalls need to be avoided during implementation.

Following the webcast, there will be an opportunity for in-depth discussion with our experts in real estate law, attorneys Rebecca Gulden and Carina Fricke.

You can download the presentations of our recent webcasts here:

• Legal Update Webcast #20/2024 - Workforce Transformation - Update 2024: This webcast provided an update on the ongoing transformation process that companies are undergoing across all industries. Factors such as demographic changes, technological advances, and cost pressures are driving this process. People-related transformation activities, with or without headcount reductions, were often part of this process. Deloitte Legal's employment law experts, Klaus Heeke and Dr. Lars Hinrichs, and Deloitte HR-expert Bettina Gerlach discussed various topics related to workforce transformation, including the use of AI tools in the employment relationship, matrix structures, compensation structures, and the legal framework for downsizing.  

• Legal Update Webcast #19/2024 - The use of AI in HR: Navigating the jungle of AI regulation: More and more companies turn to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to handle individual tasks or entire areas of responsibility. This use of AI-based solutions offers enormous potential for relieving burdens on employers and employees. In HR, specifically, many companies expect not only a competitive advantage from AI usage but also significant efficiency gains in areas like automated personnel decisions, shift planning, and employee retention. However, the use of AI systems in the HR sector is heavily regulated by the new European AI Act, the world's first law to regulate AI. Additionally, even before the introduction of this act, there were already a large number of data protection requirements in place. Implementation of these regulations posed a real challenge for HR departments due to their complexity and the potential fines for violations. Our experts, Anna Mafalda Bock and Roland Schiller, guided the participants through this webcast.

• Legal Update Webcast #18/2024: Update Remuneration of Management Board members under ARUG II and Effeciency review supervisory board 2024: During the current annual general meeting season, listed companies have to obtain the first regular follow-up resolution of the annual general meeting on the approval of the remuneration system of the Management Board in accordance with Section 120a (1) of the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz, AktG) (‘Say on Pay’). Many of the affected corporations are using this repeated ‘Say on Pay’ submission to revise their Management Board remuneration systems. Many (listed) companies are also currently conducting the regular efficiency review for their supervisory board and, in doing so, are further developing their systematic and process-based audit approach. In this webcast, Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Dr. Volker Schulenburg and Prof. Dr. Arno Probst explained the current developments and showed the possibilities for designing the Management Board remuneration system and the remuneration report for listed companies.

In our Webcast Archive, you can find a list of previous webcasts and also download the corresponding presentations.

Should you be interested in topics discussed during one of our German language webcasts, do not hesitate to contact the respective presenters – they will be delighted to provide you with additional information in the English language.

Published: November 2024