Images are still loading please cancel your preview and try again shortly.

Accessibility tools

About Us

Back

About Us

Client Services

Back

Client Services

Sectors

Back

Sectors

Find People

Back

Lawyers
Business Teams

Our lawyers are enthusiastic, committed people who relish the challenges and opportunities that they encounter every day.

Search for a lawyer by name or use one of the filters.

Locations

Back

Locations

Knowledge

Back

Knowledge

Welcome to the Knowledge Portal. You can browse, search or filter our publications, seminars and webinars, multimedia and collections of curated content from across our global network. Create an account and set your email alert preferences to receive the content relevant to you and your business, at your chosen frequency.

Knowledge

Knowledge Home

Publications

Explore our latest insights to keep abreast of key legal developments.

Publications

Blogs

Explore our blogs for the latest news and insights across a range of key legal topics.

Blogs

Events

Browse and register for our upcoming events and explore materials from past events.

Events

Podcasts

We explore the changing legal landscape in our range of podcasts.

Podcasts

Videos

Explore the legal landscape via our range of videos and webinar recordings.

Videos

Topics Hub

Keep up to speed on legal themes and developments through our curated collections of key content.

View All

Careers

Back

Careers

Global

Back

Global

> Germany

Key topics to prepare for in 2024

In our Employment & Incentives Legal Outlook 2024, we look ahead to the key developments and issues to watch out for in the coming year. These include reforms to working time rules, TUPE and family-related rights, the implementation of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, the evolution of workplace culture driven by AI and regulatory standards, expectations and trends for executive remuneration, implications for banks of the bonus cap removal and relaxations of pay and disclosure rules for ‘small firms’, and climate change and ESG factors.

Explore our publication to find out more on what to look out for in the year ahead and how best to prepare.

Key themes

Explore the topics in the publication

The future of work

2024 is set to be a year of change on many fronts for workplace rights. Reforms to annual leave rights, TUPE, flexible working and family-related rights all take effect in the first half of the year, together with a new code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement. Workplace culture will be influenced not only by the ever-increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence but also by developments in the EU on pay transparency and new standards in the financial services sector on workforce diversity metrics. The backdrop to these developments is the uncertainty of how established employment rights will be understood following implementation of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

Executive remuneration

Companies implementing ongoing policies and preparing remuneration policies and reports for shareholder approval in 2024, will be doing so in a similar environment as in 2023. Concerns about windfall gains, use of ESG metrics and comprehensive disclosure persist.
There is pressure to guard against what may be regarded as unjustifiably high levels of pay, and to show restraint on overall quantum. But there is also pressure to take certain factors such as company sector and size and global operations into account. 2024 may see a move towards non-standard benchmarks where appropriate, for example where there are industry-specific pressures on attracting and retaining talent.

Pay in the financial sector

In 2024 UK CRD V firms looking to change their pay structures following the bonus cap removal will need to navigate round some tricky issues. These include determining appropriate fixed/variable pay ratio(s), HR and contractual considerations in particular for role-based allowances, shareholder approval, governance, and gender pay gap impact. For ‘small CRD V firms’ within the new proportionality levels, some pay and disclosure rules have been relaxed, though application to groups may be complex. And regulators are exploring how to move beyond disclosure-based initiatives for factoring climate and environmental risks. A focus on remuneration policies generally and appropriate ESG metrics is likely.