Germany to allow four‑year fixed‑term contracts and ease workplace tech oversight

The coalition government announced a set of labour‑law reforms aimed at making the German job market more flexible. Key measures include extending the maximum length of non‑justified fixed‑term contracts from 24 to 48 months, requiring a medical certificate from the first day of illness, and loosening the pre‑employment ban, thereby giving employers greater latitude in hiring and dismissing staff.

The package also changes employee protection for high‑income workers, tying severance entitlement to bonuses, commissions and stock options, and seeks to streamline the rollout of digital tools and AI. Proposed amendments would reduce works‑council involvement in decisions on monitoring technologies such as time‑tracking, log‑data analysis and video surveillance, raising concerns that employee co‑determination could be weakened ahead of the 2030 works‑council elections.