German Works Councils Rush to Retrain as 2027 Reform Reshapes Sick Notes, Layoffs and Fixed-Term Rules
Published on 07/08/2026 at 05:14 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A wave of new seminars is sweeping through northern Germany as works councils brace for a batch of labor-law changes set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The education arm of the ver.di union in Lower Saxony launched a series of foundational courses in Hannover on July 6, followed by advanced modules starting July 13, with further dates planned through the summer in Oldenburg, Bremen, OsnabrĂĽck and online.
The training push comes directly from a wide-ranging reform package the federal government passed in early July. The overhaul touches nearly every corner of workplace co-determination, and councils are leaning hard on their statutory right to paid training under Section 37(6) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG). A proper council resolution is required for the employer to cover the costs.
Among the most immediate changes: sick notes. Starting in 2027, employees will need a doctor’s certificate from day one of illness, eliminating the current option for a telephone-based sick note. Fixed-term contracts are getting looser, too. Employers will be able to offer up to 48 months of non-cause fixed-term employment, with up to six renewals—but only until the end of 2030. The written-form requirement for such contracts will be scrapped.
Dismissal protection is being relaxed for high earners—those with annual gross pay above €177,500. Employers will gain a buyout option, and the package introduces a tax break for severance payments when workers switch jobs quickly. On the tax side, Sunday- and public-holiday supplements will become tax-free at higher levels from January 2027, and small and medium-sized businesses will see some relief from GDPR rules. The government also aims to curb the use of shelf European Companies (Societas Europaea) as a tool to circumvent co-determination rights.
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The training curriculum covers not only these core labor-law changes but also the Pay Transparency Act, risk assessments, and the company integration management process (BEM). AI is another hot topic. Works councils have a co-determination right under Section 87(1)(6) BetrVG whenever AI agents process personal data that could be used to monitor performance or behavior. The EU’s AI regulation does not automatically trigger that right, the Association of German Labor Lawyers noted in early July. Fraunhofer FIT plans certificate courses on “Human-AI Teaming” in the second half of 2026 to promote human-centered division of labor.
The urgency behind the training boom is underscored by real-world pressures. At Volkswagen, IG Metall and the works council have called for nationwide action days on July 9, following reports of massive cost-cutting plans that could eliminate up to 100,000 jobs and shutter plants in Hannover, Emden, or Neckarsulm. Continental announced the sale of its ContiTech plastics division to Lone Star Funds for around €4.0 billion in early July, tied to a reduction of 3,000 jobs worldwide, 1,600 of them in Germany.
In these transformation processes, works councils are expected to actively shape social matters—working-time models, holiday scheduling, and occupational safety under Section 87 BetrVG. The new seminars aim to give them the legal grounding to do exactly that.
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