On 29 January 2020 the Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labour Court ruled on the effectiveness of a cut-off date clause in a works agreement (4 Sa 1456/19). The court held that a special payment to an employee intended to reward both loyalty and performance can be dependent on the existence of the employment relationship on a certain cut-off date.
Background
The plaintiff had worked for the defendant as an employee from 2012 until 2018. On 30 November 2018 the employment relationship ended as a result of a termination by the plaintiff. The plaintiff requested from the defendant the payout of an annual special payment for 2018.
The defendant and its works council had concluded a works agreement on an annual special payment for employees to reward both company loyalty and performance. However, only employees whose employment relationship still existed on 1 January of the year following the end of the bonus period were entitled to this payment. Since the plaintiff s employment relationsh
Introduction
A third guidance note on the use of remote hearings for civil proceedings took effect on 2 January 2021. The guidance note (representing Phase 3) provides for wider use of videoconferencing facilities and telephone hearings with respect to all levels of civil courts in Hong Kong (including the Competition, Labour and Small Claims Tribunals). In particular, Phase 3 is more comprehensive and provides more options for connecting with the courts videoconferencing facilities – for example, in addition to the use of the courts hardware or software videoconferencing options (under Phases 1 and 2), Phase 3 provides for a lower cost browser-based videoconferencing option.
Phase 1 and 2 guidance notes
Introduction
In the Netherlands the general discovery trial is an unknown phenomenon. However, certain documents may be obtained pursuant to Article 843a of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (DCCP). This article outlines how this procedure works.(1)
Pursuant to Article 843a of the DCCP, a party with a legitimate interest may request from another party a copy, extract or inspection of certain documents regarding a legal relationship to which it or its predecessor is a party. A party may submit the claim during pending proceedings or in separate proceedings. Article 843a of the DCCP lays down three requirements that need to be fulfilled before the court will uphold the claim for disclosure.
Decisions
The Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) rejected the application, referring to the European Court of Justice s (ECJ s)
Biomild judgment (C-265/00), which held that the combination of several elements which are not distinctive does not result in a distinctive sign. However, a non-distinctive sign can acquire distinctiveness. In this respect, the HIPO referred to the ECJ s
Chiemsee judgments (C-108/97 and C109/97), which define the conditions for acquiring distinctiveness, and held that the documents filed by the applicant were insufficient to prove the distinctiveness acquired.
The applicant requested a review by the Metropolitan Tribunal, but this was unsuccessful. The tribunal held that the registration of non-Hungarian words must be refused if their Hungarian meaning is not distinctive. This is the standard approach demonstrated in the case law of the Supreme Court (3. Pk. 23.534/2017).
Introduction
The United Kingdom and the European Union have published their Trade and Cooperation Agreement, alongside a summary issued by the UK government and an explanatory brochure from the EU Commission. This article assesses the implications that the deal might have for employment law.
As predicted, in return for a tariff and quota-free trade deal, the United Kingdom has agreed that it will not reduce employment law rights below the standards that existed on 31 December 2020 – but only if this affects trade or investment. The United Kingdom is free to choose to diverge from future EU employment laws but the European Union may, within certain constraints and subject to an arbitration process, apply rebalancing measures if it obtains proof of a material impact on trade or investment.