Collective Bargaining in Germany and Its Interaction with State Legislation and Individual Employment Contracts

Abstract

The paper analyses the role of collective bargaining as a source of labour law in Germany. It sheds some light on the mechanisms of collective bargaining provided for by German law and how these mechanisms interact with other legal sources, namely state legislation, on the one hand, and the individual employment contract, on the other. The second part of the paper highlights some current trends in the German system of collective bargaining and points out how the relationship between collective bargaining and state legislation is in the process of changing. In this context, special attention is devoted to three major developments that are referred to as flexibilisation, decentralisation, and Europeanisation.

Note: This contribution is published in the Max Planck Private Law Research Paper Series with the permission of the rights owner, Mohr Siebeck.

Keywords: Labour law, collective bargaining, employment contract, trade unions, works councils, labour market