Die Anwendbarkeit des Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetzes auf GmbH-Geschäftsführer

The applicability of employment laws for managing directors of German GmbHs (limited liability companies) is subject to a multitude of different provisions in German and European law and their corresponding jurisprudence. This dissertation examines managing directors’ protection against discrimination according to the failed section 6 of the General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG) against the background of the recent case law of the ECJ and the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
The dissertation comments on the differences between definitions of an ‘employee’ under German and European law on the basis of a detailed analysis of the ECJ’s jurisprudence. It addresses issues resulting from conflicts between corporate and employment law which the ECJ has not resolved appropriately and evaluates them in a different manner. Furthermore, the work provides guidance on determining what constitutes an ‘employee’ according to the ECJ’s definition in practice.
The author is a practising lawyer who focuses on advising foreign investors in Germany.