COLOGNE, Germany -- GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: With its ruling from 21 March 2013 (file no.: VII ZR 224/12), the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) decided that a form provision which was being used in relation to a part-time sales representative and which provided for contract termination only after having observed a notice period of 12 months to the end of a calendar year, has been represented as constituting an unreasonable discrimination and should therefore be deemed invalid. The regulation on notice periods of termination would have become an integral part of the contract through the validity of the terms and conditions and subject to the control of the contract’s content according to the German Civil Code (BGB).
In the employment of a part-time commercial sales agent, the law provides for a notice period of one month to the end of the calendar month in accordance with the commercial code. The reason for lies is the nature of part-time employment. Such employment is undertaken less for the purposes of duration and can therefore be terminated even more expeditiously than a contractual relationship for a full-time sales representative.
On the basis of the invalidity clause due to unreasonable discrimination, the statutory notice period of one month is effective, therefore, in this case according to the BGH.
Furthermore, the BGH made clear in this particular judgment that a contract penalty agreement included general terms and conditions which the contracting party without fault is required to pay a contractual penalty, shall also be considered ineffective on the basis of unreasonable discrimination.
An attorney actively working in these specialized areas can be helpful in drawing up contracts for commercial representatives and distributors. An attorney can also provide consultations and support with problems that arise from a pre-existing contractual relationship. According to each individual case, a savvy lawyer will review the facts and provide any available solutions.
http://www.grprainer.com/en/Commercial-Agency-Law.html
GRP Rainer LLP www.grprainer.com/en/ is an international firm of lawyers and tax advisors who are specialists in commercial law. The firm counsels commercial and industrial companies and corporations, as well as associations, small- and mid-sized businesses, self-employed freelancers and private individuals worldwide from offices Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Nuremberg and London UK.
Contact Michael Rainer
Lawyer, Managing Partner
GRP Rainer LLP
Hohenzollernring 21-23
50672 Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221-27 22 75-0
info@grprainer.com
www.grprainer.com/en
