Stephanie Mayer

If a clause triggers the reimbursement of training costs when the employment relationship is terminated “at the request” of the employee, this means the indiscriminate termination of the employment relationship by the employee giving notice. With this content, the clause is unreasonably disadvantageous within the meaning of Section 307 (1) sentence 1 of the German...

When calculating compensation for a post-contractual non-competition clause in accordance with Sections 74 et seq. of the German Commercial Code (HGB), benefits from a virtual stock option program are also included. However, this only applies if the option rights were exercised while the employment relationship was still in place, according to the Federal Labor Court...

In its decision dated March 19, 2025 (case no. 10 AZR 67/24), the German Federal Labor Court delivered a landmark ruling regarding  the forfeiture of virtual stock option rights after termination of employment. The ruling specifically addresses Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOPs) that included contractual clauses stipulating that virtual options would lapse when employment ends.....